


Falling Slowly

by DeviousBodminEngr



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-08
Updated: 2016-09-25
Packaged: 2018-08-13 21:40:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 48,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7987165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeviousBodminEngr/pseuds/DeviousBodminEngr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I don't know you but I want you all the more for that.<br/>And you have suffered enough, and warred with yourself.<br/>It's time that you won.</p><p>I wish falling in love has traffic lights too, so that I would know if I should GO for it,<br/>SLOW DOWN, or just STOP.</p><p> Severus Snape has fallen in-love with Hermione Granger<br/>Will he be able to conquer his demons and tell her?<br/>Or will he just continue to love her from afar?</p><p>Can Hermione help his battered heart to love again?<br/>Will he let his heart soar, or will he let himself live in the past?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fall For You

*because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you...*

After weeks of badgering Hermione, Severus finally convinced her to go to the dentist. (I thought you'd be the ones who weren't afraid of these types of doctors seeing that your father had been one... Severus once told her)They had been best friends so far after everything that has happened, war and its aftermath and all; and in turn they had become closer with each other after two years of working together, when Severus returned to his duties as Headmaster, and Hermione being the new Potions Professor.( She decided to get an apprenticeship after in potions, under Severus after she graduated) It had been two weeks when Severus first noticed her in pain, and if there was one thing Severus hated, it was his Hermione in pain. She admitted that she was suppose to have had a wisdom tooth removed before everything happened with so many things to be done and that she forgot about it until the pain returned a week ago.

After that, Severus made her an appointment with a dentist he knew in St. Mungo's, and now here they were a week later, waiting to go in.

"You know, I don't really need it out anymore," Hermione said as she nervously bounced her leg, "I haven't had any pain in a few days."

"Mione..." Severus knew she was nervous, even afraid, which she denied, "...It needs to be done"

Hermione knew that; it had been the mantra in her head all morning, followed by 'I can do this'. She turned to Severus. "You'll come in with me right?" He could hear how scared she was.

"I promise, Mione." Severus reached over and took her hand. "I won't leave that room until you leave with me." Severus reached up and cupped Hermione's face. "We go in together, we leave together."

Hermione took a deep breath, but before she could reply she was called into the room. Severus stood up while still holding Hermione's hand, he tried to pull her up but she wouldn't budge. Signaling one minute to the assistant dental healer, Severus crouched down and looked at her. He could see that she was really scared, but she really needed this done. He didn't want her in any pain if he could help it.

"Mia, it's time. Come on, it'll last 15 minutes top." When Hermione still didn't move, he squeezed her hand. Hermione looked at him. "I'm holding your hand, Mione, and I won't let go until you tell me to. You can squeeze as hard as you want, and even break it, but I promise I won't let go."

Seeing the truth in his eyes, Hermione nodded and stood. Severus leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the forehead, mumbling a 'That's my girl'. Slowly they both walked into the room.

"Ms. Granger, please take a seat." The wizard dentist looked like he was going to comment on Severus being there, but one look from Severus and he started to explain what they would be doing today while the dental nurse gave Hermione the plastic glasses and placed a bib around her. As they started to lower her chair, Hermione squeezed Severus' hand so tightly he thought he could hear his bones rubbing together. He was sitting on a chair by her legs, so he started to rub patterns on the inside of her knee.

"Right, Ms. Granger, just a few anesthetic potions." A squeeze from her. "You're going to feel some pricks now, just breathe deeply through your nose."

As soon as Hermione felt the potions working, she squeezed his hand as hard as she could. Severus coughed to disguise his grunt of pain. Hermione was tapping her heal loudly on the chair, showing her discomfort. She was squeezing so tightly, Severus was certain he heard a bone snap. He never said anything though, and just moved his hand from her knee to her ankle under her jeans and started rubbing there.

After a few minutes the wizard dentist begun, and within 20 minutes it was done. Severus now had a Hermione who was high on muggle vicodine. After getting all the pamplets and information he needed for aftercare, Severus led a high and woozy Hermione from the office to the floo. They decided to floo straight to Poppy, and to Severus' surprise...dismay...whatever, Sirius Black was there.

"Padfoot!" Hermione shouted around the packaging in her mouth, "You're looking very smart today. Not as gorgeous as Severus but still good looking." Both Severus and Sirius looked at each other. Sirius was trying not to laugh while Severus turned to look back at Hermione. They had been getting close, really close lately. There had been some kisses and touching, but they hadn't spoken about it and their feelings. It looked like Hermione was doing it now though. Severus was broken out of his thoughts by Sirius.

"Thank you, Luv, but I'm sure that's just the vicodine talking, I'll always be more dapper than Sev ever will be." Sirius joked as he took the potion Poppy was offering him

"What's wrong with you?" Severus asked him if a bit too curious. "Pepper-up" he said with a smile as he helped Hermione to sit beside him on the bed.

Once she was on the bed, Severus handed Poppy the prescription, Hermione in the other hand leaned onto Sirius, who pulled her closer and kept his arm around her.

"I love you in three-piece suits." Hermione was running her hand up and down his thigh. "Your red velvet and pin stripes are my favourite though, but I like Severus more whenever he's in casual clothing." He said with a pat to Sirius' knee which made him laugh 

"Thank you sweetheart." He said with an air of amusement "what kind of caudal clothing do you like seeing our Severus in, hmm?" He asked

Hermione thought a bit before answering "he looks delicious in muggle clothing, but anything other than his robes, especially when he's wearing something lighter... He looks, dashing..." 

Sirius laughed and looked to Severus with a teasing smirk "is he now?"

"It's true." Hermione snuggled more closely to him. "Well id love to stay, but I still have to clean up the classroom Binns left, how s go host could keep his classroom I'm such a disarray I could never know..." (After the war, Binns decided that he had enough teaching for one... Well tow lifetimes, and decided to finally be exorcised, i nturn Severus hired Sirius to be the new History of Magic's teacher, and Remus back agakn as the DADA professor.) He said with a shake of his head. He kissed Hermione on the cheek and patted Severus' shoulder before leaving.

after Sirius had left, the two of them left soon after. Poppy advised Severus that sleep, cold compresses, and pain potions ought to do the work. Once they resched her quarters Severus helped Hermione to bed. Hermione urged Severus to sit beside him on the bed.

"I love it when you call me Mia." she sighed then fell asleep soon after. Severus kissed her head, then brushed some stray hair from her face, as he marveled at her.

Severus could clearly remember their conversation on their way back from the infirmary.

Helping her to sit on the couch, he put his arm around her shoulder and sat her down. Severus called for his personal elf Eli for some spot of tea, and a glass of pumpkin juice for her to drink with her potion.

"Your ass looks really good in this robes," she slurred as she moved her hand down and pinched his bum. Red let out a little surprised yelp. He was shocked, but also amused at her behaviour. It was like Hermione had been given the veritaserum.

While he was trying to open the door to her bed chambers, Hermione tilted her head into his neck and started to sniff him.

"You smell really great, I mean really great." Hermione took another big sniff and sighed.

Many people would have been embarrassed and uncomfortable in situations like this, but Severus was enjoying himself. Although he and Hermione were in a sort of relationship, this was showing him insight into Hermione; something she hadn't done herself yet. Severus was willing to take their relationship at whatever speed she wanted to, he just loved knowing what Hermione appreciated about him though.

Severus led Hermione to her room; she was mumbling about how she wanted to kiss and bite at the pale skin of his neck. Severus would have to remember that one, it sounded delightful. While helping her into something more comfortable, as he transfigured her day clothes to a pair of sweatpants and one of the shirts she stole from him, she started to talk about his trousers.

"Have you noticed that when you sit down, they go tight in the crotch area?"

"I haven't, no." Severus made her sit on the bottom of the bed while he pulled back the sheets. He helped her lie down, then he pulled them back up and added a blanket. Standing, Severus removed his outer teaching robes and cravat and started to roll up his sleeves, knowing that Hermione was watching his every move.

"You should undo your buttons. I love your chest hair, you should show it more often."

Severus raised his brow and undid a few buttons. Sitting on the bed by her hip and leaning forward, Severus brushed her hair out of her face.

"How are you feeling, Mia?"

"Great!" Hermione gave him a thumbs up then moved her hand to his cheek, running her fingers over his cheek and sideburn. Severus closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, only opening his eyes when she started talking.

"When you have scruff, it's very sexy. oh maybe you could grow a beard...But then that would make you look like a cross between Sirius and Dumbledore...kinda sexy. Mmm." Hermione scratched her fingernails over his 5 o'clock shadow and into his hair; Severus had to hold in his moan.

"You've obviously given this some thought Mia."

"I'm always thinking about you, Sev."

"Really? What else do you think about?" Severus knew it was wrong to ask, and if she remembered she would likely hex him. Before his thoughts could make him change his mind, shespoke.

"Our future." Hermione's eyes were starting to droop now, she'd be asleep soon.

"What about our future, what do you see happening?"

"Mmm, living in Europe, by the sea." Hermione's words were really slurring now. "We're married. So happy, and in love." As Hermione succumbed to sleep, her last words were, "Mrs. Snape."

Severus was overjoyed to hear this. It meant that when he eventually give his heart the chance,the chances of her saying yes were not solely forgotten. Leaning down, Severus softly kissed her lips.

"Sweet dreams, future Mrs. Snape."

Severus knew he loved Hermione, but he had done so much to her that he feels he owe her that much that she'll never know how he truly feels. He feels that, he has to love her from afar, let her be happy. And he'll be happy enough with the crumbs of attention that she'll be able to throw his way; just like this moment. His heart wants to believe that what she said was true, but he knows deep within that it may not be true as well.

He wants to hope, really he does. He craves to feel her touch, hear her say these words to him; and he will reciprocate without a doubt, but life wasn't just that easy,for him it never was anyway.


	2. Vulnerable

*please don't tell me that I'm the only one that's vulnerable, impossible.*

 

Severus sat down heavily on the old couch in his quarters, and watched the dust particles float around in the sunlight that was streaming in the enchanted window. He hated this day more than any other day of the year, and had dreaded it the entire week; to the point where Hermione (and the others, but her mostly) had noticed and had asked if everything was ok. He'd told her that he was fine, but he'd been lying to her and to himself. He was never ok, especially on this day.

Being best friends with Hermione had two sides to it; the good, and the not so good, but he refused to call it "bad" since that wasn't the case at all. Hermione can be too smart for his own good sometimes; "insufferable-know-it-all..." He grumbled to himself with a small smile, but on the bright side seeing someone who actually cares about you is definitely a plus on either sides. He loved her so much to a certain point that he doesn't want her to share his burden, and this one is definitely one of those days.

 

He sat forward and poured himself three fingers of fire whisky, sat back and loosened his cravat then crossed his legs and slumped down in his seat. He didn't feel like sitting properly or trying to keep up appearances, there wasn't anyone around to impress anyway. He downed his drink quickly then stayed where he was. He didn't have the energy to pour himself another.

Today, his birthday, was the day that reminded him of everything that he'd lost in his life. Lily would actually prepare a "party" for just the two of them, and it was that one day where his mother really paid attention to him. Later, they would eat cake and ice cream, then cuddle on the couch and watch some kid's movie that he hadn't cared about, but endured, because Lily thought it would be fun. It had been something he'd looked forward to the most during those precious couple of years. He found, looking back, that that had been the happiest time of his life. He hadn't realized or appreciated it then, but would do almost anything to go back and relive it again, and wished he still had at least one of those cards she'd made, but he never could find one. Tears stung at the corner of his eyes and he blinked him back; he didn't want to cry, he'd done enough of that over the years.

When they went to Hogwarts, life started changing, but for once a year, it would go back to the way it was for a short time, with just him and his Lily. But then life never really seemed to agree with him, and saw other things...

On his sixth year his mother died... then he lost his friendship to Lily afterwards he joined Voldemort...

If he could go back in time, he would turn Voldemort down in an instant then tell his minions to never approach him again; but that hadn't happened, he'd agreed and it had gotten his Lily killed; It haunted him every moment of his life. In fact, the only time that it wasn't at the forefront of his mind was when he was with Hermione, but he didn't want to think about her now, he wanted to hurt; he deserved it.

He didn't want to think about her right now. Simply because he wanted to hurt, and if he thought about her, then all his efforts would go down the drain. Sometimes, it feels like she can do anything to brighten up his day; her simplest touch, her small gestures, her little quirks, like a friendly smack, a pat, or even a glare would make his heart skip a few beats knowing that he had her attention; and he craved that, after all she is his ray of light. And everything seems to change for the better when she's around, but right now he wanted none of those things, he only wanted pain, grief and sorrow to take over him; he feels like he owes his loved one that much.

 

Severus reached forward and picked up the large bottle of fire whisky from the coffee table. He wasn't going to pretend that he wasn't going to get good and drunk. This is what he did for his birthday every year, and wasn't planning on changing that anytime soon.

He sat there unmoving for hours and watched the sunlight fade behind the trees, then watched the moon come out and shine through the window, illuminating him in his drunken state. He'd heard his floo buzzing several times over the hours, but hadn't bothered to answer it, and ended up just disconnecting it... For the remainder of the day. He just wanted to be left alone.

He was staring absentmindedly at the fire whisky bottle in his hand when he thought he heard a knock at his door. When he tried to listen for the sound again, there was nothing, so he chalked it up to his imagination.

He placed the bottle on the ground somewhat clumsily, then rolled his head on the back of the couch and stared at the dark ceiling. He finally felt numb and was glad for it. He only allowed himself to become like this once a year, but those few hours were like paradise to him; He didn't have to hurt anymore. The ache would be back soon enough, so he was going to enjoy the brief respite while he could.

He had his eyes closed when he felt, more than heard, a presence in the room. He cracked an eye open and could make out a dark silhouette standing in front of him. He tried to lift his head, but found that he was too far gone to do anything but stare at the shadow. He tried to say something, but it came out as a groan, and he realized that if the person was here to kill him, then they were going to have an easy time of it. He was defenseless, he forgot to ward his door.

As he mentally tried to prepare himself for whatever this person had in store for him, he heard her voice, "Severus. What's going on?"

Shit. He didn't want her to see him like this; no one was supposed to see him like this.

Again he tried to say something, but nothing came out, so he just closed his eyes and tried to pretend that this was a nightmare and nothing more.

He felt the couch move beside him, then her hand was on his thigh as she said softly, "Come on, Sev, let's get you to bed. In the morning you can tell me why the hell you're more drunk than I've ever seen you."

He tried to protest, tried his damnedest to say something, but was helpless as she pulled him to his feet. The room started to spin and he felt like he was going to throw up. He groaned; his voice raspy, "Mione, I'm going to vomit." He had to try his best hold it back, his dignity was already at an all time low.

She flung his arm around her shoulder, then put her arm around his waist and started leading him towards the bathroom. He couldn't hold much of his weight, so he leaned against her and just let her practically drag him to the bathroom. She was breathing heavily by the time they got there, and she led him over to the tub and sat him down on the edge. He swayed for a moment, but managed to steady himself somewhat.

As soon as she had her breathing under control she knelt next to him, "Do you still feel like you're going to throw up?"

He looked at her with slightly clearer eyes, "No."

She put her hand on his knee, "Why don't we get you in the shower, then put you to bed."

He shook his head, swaying slightly as he did so, and said rather clearly, "I'd rather just go to bed. I can shower in the morning when you won't have to hold me up."

Hermione nodded and pulled him back up, then led him into his bedroom. She sat him on the edge of the bed and pulled off his shoes and socks, then took off his inner robes and dress shirt; leaving him in a black undershirt. She pushed him down on his pillow and he went without protest, he was exhausted and could hardly keep his eyes open. She began to unbuckle his belt to take his pants off, but he stopped her with a hand, his voice slightly slurred, "That's not necessary Mione, I can sleep in my pants."

"It won't be comfortable, just let me take them off, I promise not to look at anything." She smirked at him, but he was too far gone to tease her back, so he just nodded reluctantly. "Sev, I'm your best friend... You're my best friend, so stop being an arse and let's just get you comfy okay?" He drunkenly nodded and she smiles "that's my boy..."

She slipped his pants off quickly, leaving him in Slytherin green boxers, then moved the blanket over his legs and up to his chest. He was almost asleep as she brushed her hand over his forehead, and his last thought before he passed out what how lucky he was to have this woman in his life.

Hermione thought hard about what was going on, as she ran her hand on his forehead. Bending down, she placed a kiss to his forehead and wished him goodnight before leaving him, her heart still ached for him knowing that she can't help him right now, if he wouldn't cooperate.

Severus woke to the smell of coffee and groaned at the bright sunlight streaming in through his window. He didn't even remember how...wait...Hermione had shown up and put him to bed after seeing him at his absolute worst. He was embarrassed to say the least.

His head felt like someone was hitting it with a hammer and he turned on his side to see what time it was; It was after 11:00. He noticed a glass of water and a few bottles of sober-up potion sitting on the table, so he picked them up and swallowed them down quickly. He needed to make himself presentable before he talked to her, she had to believe that nothing was wrong and that he'd just had a moment of weakness.

He showered and shaved quickly, feeling much better afterwards, and dressed in his usual attire, and studied himself in the mirror. The bags under his eyes were more pronounced than usual, but he didn't think he looked much worse for wear after all said and done.

He strode out of his bedroom and into the living room, but his steps faltered when he saw Hermione slumped in "his" corner of the couch, asleep, with a book lying on her chest. He smiled slightly and walked over and sat next to her. He must have moved the couch more than he'd intended, because she woke up quickly and sat up; the book sliding off her chest and landing with a thud on the carpet. She blinked tiredly and looked at him, "How are you feeling this morning?"

He grimaced, "Like a herd of hypogriffs are inside my skull." He hesitated and put his hand on her arm, "Mione, I'm sorry you had to see me like that last night. I'd had a few too many and didn't realize it until I was well past being drunk."

She narrowed her eyes, "Why?"

"Why, what?"

She looked exasperated, "Why were you drinking?"

He pursed his lips and looked away, "There wasn't any reason in particular. Like I said, I lost count and hadn't realized how far gone I was."

"Severus, cut the crap. Quit lying to me."

He looked back at her in feigned surprise, "Mia, what are you talking about?"

She shook her head and sighed, then stood up and walked over to the entryway table and picked up a small package, then walked back over and sat next to him on the couch; closer than before. "I know it was your birthday yesterday, what I don't know is why you felt like you had to get stupidly drunk instead of celebrating it."

He shrugged his shoulders, "It's just what I do. I always have." He couldn't ever tell her the real reason, it just wasn't going to happen, no matter how many times she asked.

She handed him the package that she'd retrieved. He took it hesitantly and looked at her, "What is it?"

She smiled, "Just open it; I'll explain after you see what it is."

He slowly tore the red wrapping paper off and saw that it was a frame. He turned it over and sucked in a breath. It was one of the cards Lily had made for him. He felt like he couldn't breathe and that a tidal wave of emotion was threatening to burst out of him. All he could manage to say was a broken, "How?"

She looked concerned for him and moved closer so that they were hip to hip, "I was going through about what to give you for your birthday, and Albus' portrait told me that...there was this one misplaced thing inside the Potter's vault that might be of more importance to someone than the goblins, so I asked Harry to help me out and got you this..."

He looked like he was going to cry as he ran a finger over the glass of the frame. "Thank you, Mione. This is.." He trailed off, too overwhelmed with emotion to say anything more.

She nodded and put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it lightly, "You're welcome. I'm just glad they let me give it to you. Happy belated birthday."

He smiled sadly and put his arm around her, then pulled her close and kissed her temple. After a few moments, he pulled his arm away and held the frame with both hands. The card was just like he remembered it being, and he smiled at the memories it evoked. He could picture his Lily making an effort into making this enchanted card just to see him smile, at least once, and lift the burden off of him. Tears came unbidden to his eyes and he let them fall; he was tired of hiding his heartache behind a devil-may-care attitude, and knew that he could let it out in front of Hermione and she wouldn't hold it against him.

She put her arm around his waist and her chin on his shoulder. He turned his face to hers and smiled faintly once more, then resumed staring at the card.

She didn't ask anymore questions and he was grateful. He couldn't tell her the truth, the truth but he felt that she already knew anyway, so which is why he proceeded to tell her, and he was actually able to talk about her without the terrible ache returning in his chest; all because of Hermione.

"C'mon..." Hermione said after giving him two cups of his morning tea "where are we going?" He asked not even bothering to stand up; Hermione just rolled her eyes at him and pulled him to his feet. "I'm going to take you out..." She said as he finally made a stand; "out where?" He asked her and she smiled and hugged him "out there... Cmon trust me, it's gonna be fun...you don't have a job today, it's Saturday, and besides I've already told Minerva and she told me it'll be fine...Albus said, it's for the best too" Hermione said kissing him on the cheek. Reluctantly he agreed to go out with her, but he really could never say "no" to her. 

Hermione pulled at him till they reached the coat rack and let him pull his coat and scarf on, before she pulled on her own coat and beanie. "Where are we going?" He asked again pulling at her hand; she turned and rolled her eyes at him "I'm going to give you a real birthday... I want this to change Sev..." She said with a small sigh, and cupped his face with her hands; "you're not alone Sev, I'm here with you...for you, and I want to make it special..." She said with a small smile and carried on pulling him. Slowly a smile crept onto his face "so she really does care doesn't she?" He asked himself and smiled. She hugged him to his side and wrapped an arm around her shoulder "then lead the way..." He said with a smug smile on his face, which in turn made Hermione smile. She smiled a thousand watt smile at him and wrapped an arm around his waist; "trust me, we're gonna have fun...you and I..." She said looking up at him still smiling. He bent down and kissed her temple; "when I'm with you...I know it's gonna be a gas."

Hermione took Severus and apparated themselves cross country to Coney Island. They ate their hearts out from sweets, fair food, and food from the amusement park. They rode different rides, played all sorts of games and even had their picture taken in the photo booth. Over all Severus had so much fun; he had never felt like this in a very long time and he was very thankful that Hermione insisted on doing this. "There's just one more stop, and then we can go home..." She said as she clung onto his waist; he chuckled and pulled her closer "lead the way boss..." 

They found themselves in a little Italian restaurant "I got you a little something more Sev..." She said with a smile "close your eyes..." She said and he arched an eyebrow making her giggle "c'mon!" She said laughing "do as your told..." Severus pouted and sighed before closing his eyes. Hermione gestured for the waiter to come nearer and place her gift in front of him; "open your eyes..." As Severus opened his eyes he saw a small cake lit before him while Hermione softly sung

*happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you...  
Happy birthday dear Sevvie...happy birthday to you...*

She said with a smile on her face; make a wish Severus then blow your candles out. Severus smiled a little closed his eyes and made a wish *i wish I could spend the rest of my life, with the woman I love...* he opened them and smiled and voiced if out "I wish that both your dreams and mine, would someday all come to life..." He said and blew out his cake. Hermione's eyes misted as she saw the boyish smile on his face as he scooped up a small amount of icing and placed it on her nose "thank you for this day, and your lovely gift Mia..." He said and she leaned just a bit more closer to him; "that's not all Sev... Not the cake, not the birth-date..." She even tried to make a joke and he smiled "and besides the card, this is my gift..." Slowly she leaned forward and kissed him on the lips slowly,tenderly and lovingly. "Happy birthday Sevvie..." She smiled and he smiled back just a bit dazed: "best birthday ever..." He chuckled.

With just one gift, she'd managed to make him feel better than he had in years. Maybe, just maybe, he could make it through another year with her by his side. It certainly felt like it was worth trying.


	3. Bad Day

"ACHOO! AHHCHOOO!"

"Are you okay?" Sirius asked looking over at Hermione from his corner of the teacher's lounge

"Yes I'm fine. It's just allergies." Hermione said as she wiped her nose and threw the tissue into her already full trash can that she accioed close.

"It's not allergies Hermione. You have been getting worse over the past 2 days. Go to Poppy." Sirius said to her with a frown.

"I'm not going to Poppy. Even if I was sick, which I am NOT, there wouldn't be anything she could do to stop this and not hinder my immune system." Hermione said to him.

Sirius didn't have a chance to reply. Hermione immediately went into another coughing fit. Her couch sounds bad Sirius thought to himself. It was way to deep for it to just be a normal cough.

Minerva came into their office just as Lizzie blew her nose once again. She don't look so good Minerva thought to herself. Her eyes looked glassy and unfocused looking.

"I came in to tell you Severus and I wants prepared a small emergency meeting." Minerva said with a frown as she looked at how pitiful Hermione looked.

"Anything new from the ministry?." Sirius asked as he stood up from his chair.

Three days before, Lucius had come in to Hogwarts to give out a few lists of the new set of Wizengamot body and a few new other things Kingsley had installed.

When they all went inside Severus' office, he immediately saw that Hermione looked a bit...off, but continued nonetheless with the meeting. 

"Lucius came in with some news..." He drawled a bit; "A few loose death eaters were caught lurking around Hogsmeade, but he assured me that there were Aurors around as well. Also, Mr. Percy Weasley was installed in the ministry as his father's assistant and that Black,..." Severus said as he laid his eyes on Sirius "your Godson and mine were promoted as Aurors and are given their own team..." Both Sirius and Remus looked really proud of Harry as they puffed their chests out and Hermione tried her best to smile but instead to Severus it looked more of a pained grimace, he wondered why.

A few more news were given out by Severus before they decided to end the little meeting.

Minerva then reminded the other heads of houses of the upcoming NEWTS and OWLS and to get their students at the ready. They all nodded and begin to part ways, Hermione started to get up to leave too but felt very dizzy and had to sit back down.

"Mione are you alright?" Remus asked looking at her.

"Yeah, I just got a bit dizzy that's all. Probably from blowing my nose so much. I'll be fine." Hermione said rubbing her head.

Minerva walked over to Hermione and put her hand on her head.

"Hermione, you are burning up." Minerva said with a concern voice. Severus stood up and made her way to her.

"Hermione I'm taking you to Poppy. You are sick and are in no shape to be here. I also don't want you coming back here till you are completely well. No arguments." Severus said firmly.

"Fine" Hermione said. She felt to bad to argue.

"I'm sure if you give us your syllabus we could handle your classes without blowing them all up..." Sirius said with concern albeit with a little air of amusement.

"No no that's silly. I'm sure I won't be gone long, I'll be okay tomorrow. I'll be fine. I just need a few potions and some sleep." Hermione said standing up again, only slower.

Minerva, Sirius and Remus looked at each other but agreeing.

Severus then helped Hermione flooing to Poppy, he was glad that it was a Friday. Hermione will have plenty of time to rest...for now.

The Next Day. 9AM. Hermione's Quarters

The sounds of Hermione vomiting echoed throughout her quarters the next morning.

"Ugh." HerMione groaned as she rested her head on the toilet seat. She had finally admitted to herself around 7:00PM last night that she was in fact sick. Very sick. After flushing the toilet Hermione picked herself up and moved slowly over to the sink to brush her teeth.

After she finished brushing, she slowly made her way back to the bedroom. Just walking that little ways felt like miles to Hermione. She had just flopped onto the bed when her floo rang. Turning over to see from who it was, based on the smoke, Hermione looked at it and saw it was Green. It was Severus. Hermione sighed but answered the call.

"'Lo?" Hermione said softly.

"Mia?" He started softly "You weren't here for breakfast and Poppy said you haven't checked on her, are you alright love?" 

Hermione grunted.

"Mia, you should've checked on her, is there anything you need? Are you still unwell? I've put up a charm on your quarters which will alert me if you're feeling better or worse, it's ticked up to worse are you okay?"

Hermione grunted again.

"I'll be there soon." Severus said before hanging up.

Hermione grunted into the phone once again before finally trying to succumb to sleep, but then the floo went off and someone came in...

"Mione? Mia I need you to wake up. Mia, Poppy needs to look you over."

She could hear a very familiar deep voice speaking to her but she couldn't seem to open her eyes. They felt very heavy and she was just so sleepy.

"Mia. Wake up."

The voice was shaking her now. It was hurting her skin. Hermione could feel herself frowning. Why couldn't people just leave her alone. Hermione turned her head and managed to crack open her eyes to see a blurry Severus standing over her.

"Mione. I need you to wake up. I've brought Poppy to have a look at you. You look terrible." Severus said looking down on her.

Typical man. Always expecting you to look your best Hermione thought.

Hermione had to blink a couple of times before her vision became clear. She saw Severus was standing next to her bed wearing some thing lighter, but his teaching robes were still on. She saw Taffy (Severus' personal elf) standing in the doorway and Poppy I'm from of her holding a black bag.

"Come on Mione sit up. Poppy is here to check you out and make you feel better " Severus said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders to help her sit up.

When she finally was able to partially sit up, Poppy stepped forward.

"Child, didn't I tell you to come to me when you feel yourself worsted ing?" She said with a small irritation in her concerned voice. "Can you tell me your symptoms?" The mediwitch said looking at her.

Hermione swallowed before saying, "Well I have a sore throat, my head hurts, my nose is running, both ears hurt, my head feels like it's coming off my shoulders, my body is killing me and my chest hurts every time I breath or cough."

"Any fever?"

"Yeah all night. The last time I took it was this morning and it was 102. I've been taking Pepper-up every couple of hours but I don't think it's helping." Hermione says as Poppy runs her hand along her throat.

"Vomiting or diarrhea?"

"Yeah diarrhea yesterday but that stopped when the vomiting kicked in late last night." Hermione said.

Poppy said nothing else as she waved her wand to check her over.

After a couple of minutes she said, "Well Ms. Granger the result says that you have a slight case of bronchitis and the flu. Now, I can give you antibiotic potions and an muggle albuterol inhaler for the bronchitis but there isn't really anything I can do for the flu. That's just going to have to run it's course. It's just a muggle flu, so you'll be fine without the use of strong potions, Pepper-up and some muggle medicine will be quite fine."

"Ugh!" Hermione said laying her head back down on the pillow.

"You do need to drink as much as you can. If you have been vomiting since last night you are no doubt dehydrated. Muggle Motrin is good for the fever. You can take that and try to get plenty of sleep but do try to get up and move around a little bit. I know you don't feel good but you do need to walk around and sit up as much as you can." Poppy says before turning to Severus.

"I'll owl St. Mungo's her prescriptions on the way back to my office. I haven't had you stock some of the antibiotics she needs, that's why I'll have to owl St. Mungo's It shouldn't take more then an hour for them to fill them. She needs to start taking the antibiotics right away. I don't want the bronchitis turning into pneumonia."

Severus nods his head. "Anything else she needs?"

"It wouldn't hurt for her to have a muggle humidifier in here. It will help her to breathe and a heating pad for her body aches. The main thing is for her to drink liquids. Sticking to an all liquid diet for a couple of days goes without saying. Soup, Some muggle Jell-o like the ones you had as a kid, and maybe some dry toast later on. I really don't want her vomiting anymore if we can help it." Poppy say to Severus.

Severus nods his head. The mediwitch turns back around to address Hermione.

"Hermione, I will...." The mediwitch starts to say but sees Hermione has fallen back asleep.

"Severus I'll floo you when the potions come in, and you could ask your elf to pick them up." Poppy says packing up her bag.

"Thank you Poppy. I appreciate you coming immediately." Severus said as he gave Poppy a warm smile.

"Severus you know all too well you don't need to thank me, child." She said as she patted his arm. "Take care of her, hmm..." She said with a wink and Severus laughed a bit.

Severus sees Poppy to the floo before returning to Hermione.

Severus turns back to watch Hermione sleep. He could tell by her breathing that her chest was very congested. Her face was red and blotchy yet pale, nose red and chapped and by the slight frown on her sleeping face, her body was hurting her. Severus turned to leave the room and head back to the living room.

"Taffy?" Severus said as he walked towards the kitchenette.

"Taffy could you please head to the village and pick up a few things. She's going to be down for a few days at least and she's going to need some things." Severus said as he walked into the living room, taking off his teaching robes. He placed his robes on couch before turning back to Taffy.

"Pick her up some chicken noodle soup and a few cans of chicken and beef broth. In case she can't handle the noodles. Get some ginger ale, several boxes of Tissue paper, a humidifier, a couple boxes of saltine crackers and maybe a fresh loaf of bread. I saw she had enough Pepper up and a few muggle things by her bedside table so don't need that."

Taffy nodded. "Anything else, Master?"

"Swing by Poppy. By the time you finish her medicine should be ready. " Severus said.

Taffy nodded. "Will you be being alright alone, or you be needing Eli to help you with?" Taffy asked with an air of amusement.

Severus laughed and patted Taffy. "I survived many years on my own without you watching over me my friend. I'll be fine."

"Taffy was just being sure, Master. You see, Taffy and Eli be always wanting you to be okay...despite what they say, you are a good Master, Master Severus." 

Severus smiled "Thank you, Taffy, I wouldn't have made it passed my student years without you and Eli... You had been too kind to me when others weren't, and I'll always be grateful to you. Oh and yes, in case you couldn't find them in the village please venture out to the muggle world if you find it alright..."

Taffy nodded and smiled "but of course, Master, Taffy will be able to do so... taffy will be back in a little while..." He said before popping out.

After he left, Severus walked back to the small kitchenette before Walking into Hermione's bedroom he sees that she is still asleep. He walks over to the bed and places his hand on her forehead. Still warm but not to bad Severus thought to himself. He turns and begins to look around the bedroom. It's the first time he's been in her bedroom. Well during the day anyways. He likes what he sees. Not over done with accessories, no cliché flowers anywhere, no horrible hotel room paintings on the walls. Warm, inviting, calm. Very Hermione.

He noticed that on the bottom of her bedside table there were several stacks of books. He bends down to have a look.

A Measure of a Man by Sidney Poitier.

The Complete Works of Nicholas Sparks

A few works by Dan Brown like The Da Vinci Code, The Lost Symbols, Inferno, and Angels and Demons

Benjamin Franklin: An American Life.

High Society - Life of Grace Kelly.

For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemmingway

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Complete Novels of Jane Austen

Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Complete Works of Charles Dickens

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Neffnegger

Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell

And of course... Hogwarts, A History.

Hermione would love his collection too that's for sure, and that made him smile.

It appears Hermione Granger is quite the reader of all kinds of books. While looking, Severus notices another book on top of the nightstand underneath a box of tissues.

Love Letters of Great Men and Women. From The Eighteenth Century to the Present Day by CH Charles.

It had a bookmark in the middle, marking Hermione's place. Severus stands up and chooses that one. He un does his cravat and rolls up his shirt sleeves before taking a seat in the oversized accent chair Hermione has in the corner of the room. He makes himself comfortable before beginning to read from the beginning.

"Be calm - love me - today - yesterday - What tearful longings for you - you - you - my life - my all - farewell.

Oh continue to love me - never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved.

ever thine.

ever mine.

ever ours.

Ludwig van Beethoven's letter to his Immortal Beloved.

"Sev?""

Severus had just finished reading the end of Beethoven's letter when he heard Hermione's hoarse voice. He looked up quickly to see Hermione staring at him from her place on the bed.

"Hello Mia. How are you feeling?" Severus said with a smile as he closed the book. He sat the book down on the small side table that was next to the chair before standing up and making his way over to the bed.

"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked looking up at him.

"Well currently I'm waiting for Taffy's return. I sent him to pick up a few things you may need. I originally came here to check on you. You sounded awful when we spoke on the floo this morning. Do you remember Poppy seeing you?" Severus asked.

"Yes. I have the flu." Hermione stated.

"And bronchitis. She wrote you out a couple of prescriptions. That's one of Taffy's stops. To get your medicine." Severus said looking down on her.

"Sev, you don't have to take care of me. I'm fine on my own." Hermione said right before going into yet another coughing fit.

"Yes I can see that." Hermione said with a grin, handing her a handful of tissues.

Just then Severus heard the faint sound elf apparition.

"Excuse me for a moment, Mione. I do believe Taffy has returned." Severus said turning to leave the room.

As he made his way out of the bed chambers, Taffy walked out of the living room Levitating several parcels of brown bags to the kitchenette.

"How did everything go?" Severus asked taking a few of the parcels from his friend.

"Just fine. There be no problems, Master." Taffy replied softly. Both of them walked into the kitchenette and placing the parcels on the counter.

"How is Miss be doing ,Master?" He asked.

"She just woke up a couple of minutes ago. She needs to take her medicine and drink something as soon as possible." Severus said unpacking the bags.

Everything he asked for was there along with a few extra things. A couple of extra toothbrushes,muggle cough drops, muggle nasal spray, some muggle Dramamine, cranberry juice, orange juice, a jar of honey, a box of peppermint tea, a box of ginger tea and two boxes of Gingersnap cookies.

Severus held up the box of cookies and looked at Taffy.

"Friendly witch be saying that Little Miss may be needing those, and also that some sweets may bring back her taste, so she could be eating and get well..." Taffy said with a shrug.

Severus smiled slightly before saying, "Would you start a batch of soup for her Taffy? I'm going to take her up the medicine."

Taffy nodded as Severus placed her prescription potions and all the non perishable items back into the bag along with a goblet of water from the muggle refrigerator and a can of ginger ale. As Severus walked up to the bed chambers he could hear the sound of Hermione vomiting again.

Severus sighed as he rushed into the bedroom, dropping the parcel on the bed and heading into the bathroom. What he saw was the sight of Hermione bent over the toilet, her hair falling out of the pony tail she put it in long ago. He walked over to her, held her hair back in one hand and patting her back with the other.

Dry heaves were all that remained as Hermione flushed the toilet and laid her head on her arm. Maybe I should just stay here she thought to herself. The sound of running water brought her back to the present. Severus placed a cold wash cloth of her forehead.

"Thank you." Hermione said softly.

"You're welcome. Can you stand up?"

"I think so." Hermione said as she pulled herself up with Severus help. She made her way over to the sink to once again brush her teeth.

"When you are done I have your medicine. You need drink something too." She heard Severus say behind her.

Hermione brushed her teeth for several minutes trying to get the awful taste out of her mouth. After she finished she walked back into bedroom just as Taffy was walking in carrying a tray.

"I'm not very hun...." Hermione started to say but was interrupted by Severus.

"Mione, you must try and eat. You need to get fluids in you." he said helping her get in bed. He had propped her pillows up against the headboard for her to lean against.

Hermione sighed as she tried to get comfortable which wasn't easy since her whole body hurt. Severus took the tray from Taffy and placed it in her lap.

"Chicken noodle soup and some crackers. Classic. Try to eat as much as you can." Severus said.

Hermione sighed once again but didn't argue. She was throwing up anyways.

Hermione slowly ate all the crackers and about half of the soup before she started feeling sick again. Severus handed her two of the muggle Dramamine pills and the bottle of water.

"Those should help settle your stomach. I'll give you your antibiotic in a few minutes." Severus said taking her tray away.

Hermione took the pills before turning over on her side and closing her eyes. She must have dozed off for a few minutes because the next thing she knew Severus was standing over her with more pills.

"Go back to sleep Mia. I'll be here if you need me." Severus said putting the water on the night table. Hermione nodded before closing her eyes once and falling asleep.

The next time she opened her eyes it must have been late afternoon by the light peeking through the closed bedroom blinds. She sat up and looked around. She didn't see Severus but did see his cravat laying on her dresser that was across the room. Must be outside she thought. The sound of the muggle humidifier on her nightstand was the only sound she could hear. She laid very still for several minutes. She didn't feel any better but not any worse either which after the past two days that was saying something. I need a shower she thought to herself. Her hair and body felt greasy against the sheets. She slowly pulled back the covers and got out of bed. Going to the dresser she pulled out a fresh pair of pajamas, a pair of panties and a pair of socks. Taking her clothes into the bathroom she shut but did not lock the door.

It took her awhile to shower and wash her hair since she was moving so slowly. Stepping out of the shower she felt tired again but at least she was clean. She had just put on her pajamas when she had to sit down on the toilet lid. She was so exhausted. Just then she heard a knock on the door.

"Mia? Are you okay?" She heard Severus say through the door.

"Not really." She responded. Severus opened the door and poked his head in.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling nauseated again?" Severus asked.

"No just tired." Hermione said running her hair through her wet hair.

Severus said nothing as he stepped inside the bathroom and picked the pair of socks up off the bathroom counter.

"Give me your foot." Severus said bending down. Hermione looked at him before lifting first her left and then her right foot. After putting on her socks, Severus opened up the cabinets under the sink. Finding the muggle hair dryer he was looking for, he stood back up. He plugged in the dryer and turned to Hermione and said, "Turn around. You don't need a wet head being as sick as you are."

Hermione turned so her back was to him and Severus flipped the muggle dryer on. He blew her hair dry for several minutes, running his fingers through her hair as he did so. After making sure no wet spots remained he turned off the dryer and picked up the hair brush that was sitting next to the sink. Very gently as to not pull her hair, Severus ran the brush through her hair. Hermione smiled slightly. No one had brushed her hair since her mom when she was a child. She forgot how good it felt. Soon enough Severus put down the brush and began opening the counter drawers. Finding the hair tie he was looking for, he turned back to Hermione's hair. He began to slowly part her hair into three equal pieces before, almost expertly, braiding her hair.

"You know how to braid?" Hermione asked in surprise.

"Petunia wouldn't do Lily's hair, so I learned to do it for her... She likes when I braid it for her." Severus said softly.

Hermione smiled at the thought of a young Severus sitting on a pink bed, braiding his best-friend's hair.

"There all done. Let's get you back into bed." Severus said taking hold of her elbow. They made their way back into the bedroom and Hermione saw her bed was freshly made up with clean sheets.

"I thought clean sheets would make you feel better." Severus said helping her into bed.

"Thank you." Hermione said softly looking up at him.

Severus nodded with a grin before saying, "You need to eat again and take another round of your medicine. You were able to keep down the last batch."

Hermione nodded and Severus turned to leave the room. He was only gone for a few minutes before coming back carrying another tray pull of dishes and a fresh bottle of cold water.

"We'll stick with soup tonight and if you feel better tomorrow, maybe you can work your way up to scrambled eggs and dry toast." Severus said putting the tray on bed over Hermione's lap. She saw it was another bowl of chicken noodle soup, more crackers and a small glass bowl of red Jell-O. As Hermione started eating her dinner, Severus sat down and laid back against her headboard next to her and turned on the muggle TV that was hanging on the wall above the dresser, she, Harry, and himself thought about bringing in one in each of their quarters. Now Remus snd amorous had one in their own quarters too. They didn't speak as she ate but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. Severus had settled on watching the old 1945 black and white movie,"...And Then There Were None." Hermione had never seen it before and enjoyed watching it while she ate. She was so caught up in the movie that she didn't notice she had finished all her food till Severus moved to get up.

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked.

"To give you your medicine and to take your tray back to the kitchenette." Severus said walking over to her side of the bed. He gathered up her medicine before handing the pills to her with the glass of water. "Try to drink as much of that as you can. I'm sure you're still dehydrated."

Hermione drank small sips of the water as she watched TV.

"I'm glad you didn't stayed in the tower rooms like Remus did. Those stairs are not meant for an aging man's knees." Severus said walking back into the room. Hermione giggled watching him walk back around to the empty side of the bed. They laid next to each other and continued to watch the movie.

After a few minutes, Hermione asked, "I hope you aren't caught up in work?"

"Oh, no. Minerva has it covered. I told her to tell me if anything comes up though." Severus replied eyes never leaving the TV.

Hermione said nothing else as she watched the movie. She must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew, Severus was standing over her, shaking her awake.

"Mia it's time to take another round of your medicine." he said.

"How long have I been asleep?" Hermione asked looking towards the window.

"About five hours. It's almost midnight."

HerMione sat up slightly to take the potions Severus had in his hand.

"Are you hungry? Want some more soup?" Severus asked.

Hermione shook her head no.

"You need to eat a little something with those pills. Taffy picked up some pudding when he went to the store?" Severus said.

Hermione again shook her head no.

"How about a scoop of orange sherbet? I'll have a bowl with you?" Severus said with a raised eyebrow.

The sherbet would probably feel good against her throat Hermione thought and nodded her head yes.

Severus left and Hermione looked back towards the TV. One of her favorite old movies was just about to start playing. Holiday with Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn. She was slightly singing along with the opening theme song when Severus made his way back into the room carrying two bowls. After getting settled on "his" side of the bed, Severus handed Hermione her bowl.

"I love this movie." Hermione said taking a small bite.

Severus grinned as he to began eating his sherbet. They once again sat in silence as they watched the movie. This time Hermione stayed awake till the end. As Severus picked up the remote from the nightstand on his side of the bed, Hermione really looked at him for the first time today. He had taken off his waistcoat and untucked his dress shirt. He also had taken off his dress shoes but left on his black socks. It was the most relaxed she had ever seen him look.

"Coming up next is Casablanca with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Do you want to watch that." Severus asked looking at the list

"Yes. That's one of my favorites too." Hermione said.

Severus nodded before placing the remote back on the side table.

Hermione managed to stay awake for about half of the movie before she feel into a deep sleep. Severus placed a hand to her forehead and found it to be cool. She was still very pale but looked better then she did when he first arrived. He sat next to her watching her sleep. He was tired but content. It had been far to many years since he got the opportunity to take care of someone when they were sick. Someone who needed him. The fact that it was Hermione made it ever more special. He was surprised she allowed him to do without so much as a word. No fighting, no arguing, nothing. Just accepted his help. She must really be feeling bad Severus thought to himself with a grin. He turned off the TV, flipped the switch on the bedside light and turned over on his side, facing her. He slept better that night then he had in years.

When Hermione opened her eyes the next morning, the sun was peeking through the blinds once more. The space next to her on the bed was empty and cold which meant Severus had already been up for awhile. She had woken up once during the night to go to the bathroom and found him sound asleep next to her. He never moved when she got out or back in the bed. She laid still for a minute to take stock of her body. Still sore but much better then yesterday. Her throat and chest still hurt but at least the vomiting and fever had stopped. She slowly got out of bed to go to the bathroom.

Once she took care of business she brushed her teeth and brushed her hair. Because she slept in the braid Severus had did, her hair was in back in a massive waves and curls. Instead of pulling it back into a pony tail, she left it down. Her head was still a little sore.

Making her way back into the bedroom, she saw Severus had laid out her morning medicine next to a fresh bottle of water on the nightstand. She took it before making her way out of the bedroom. Walking out the bed chambers she saw a small black bag and a matching garment bag laying next to the front door. She could make out Severus' voice leading her to the kitchen. Once there she saw Severus and Lucius at her kitchen table. Papers, files and a cup of coffee in front of Severus, who was talking on with the other man. He was dressed in a fresh and light black button down dress shirt, cravat and waistcoat gone, and his robes was nowhere to be seen. Lucius sat next to him reading the morning paper, and listening to Severus with half an ear.

Lucius spotted her first and stood up.

"Good morning Ms. Granger." Lucius said softly as he motioned for her to take his seat.

"Lucius I've told you to call me Hermione. " Hermione responded sitting down. Lucius pulled out the chair at the end of the table as Severus continued running through different papers and then scribbling on a parchment before directing the owl what to do. When she sat down he nodded to her and gave her a look over.

Hermione looked towards the microwave clock to check the time. 9:05AM.

She reached over to have a look at the front page of the newspaper Lucius had been reading. Seems I haven't missed much over the past couple of days Hermione thought to herself. Bad stories from Skeeter, financial news and the latest celebrity sightings. Not necessarily in that order. Just as Hermione pushed the paper aside, Severus finished with his missives.

"You know it never ceases to amaze me! For years I've never heard from my mother's family, now they're here pooling over, and leaving me with all their bank notes, where were they when we needed them, hmm?" Severus said with an air of pain and irritation to his voice.

Lucius chuckled a little; "You know, if you'd just asked me before to crawl under the ministry and give you their bank notes I would have done it for you... But alas, you've always been...too, kind in your own ways, my brother."

Hermione stared at him with a little bit of sadness in her eyes, has life always been that bad for Severus? She pooled her courage and spoke; "well, maybe now, it can be different... Start fresh with them?" She asked

Severus laughed a little and said, "I'm the last of the Prince line, apparently, I became heir...not that I could care less for them, anyway!" He changed the topic quickly "How are you feeling this morning? You look a lot better then you did yesterday ."

"I still feel bad but no where near as bad as I did. At least I'm not throwing up anymore. That's all I care about." Hermione said.

"Did you take the potions I put out for you?" Severus asked.

"Yes." Hermione said.

"Good. You need some breakfast. You want more soup or do you want to try some eggs?" Severus asked.

Hermione thought for a moment before saying, "I think I want some eggs and some toast. I'm kind of hungry."

Severus smiled at her as Lucius stood up. "Wait till you've had Lucius' scrambled eggs. They are fantastic! He takes them off the heat while they are still slightly runny and let's them continue cooking in the pan making them incredibly soft and fluffy....which is unlike him in all aspects."

Hermione laugh a little nodded as she laid her head down on her folded arms on the table. Lucius came over with a small glass of orange juice.

"This will help replenish some of the vitamins you lost." he said. "Would you like some peppermint tea with your breakfast or do you want to stick with water?" Severus asked softly

"Some tea would be nice Sev. Thank you." Hermione said looking up at him with a smile. He nodded to turning back to the kitchen.

Hermione sat sipping at her juice while Severus organized his papers in front of him. As she raised her glass to her lips, a thought suddenly came in her head.

"Did you tell me you had a charm on my quarters or did I dream that?" Hermione asked with a frown.

Severus laughed a little.

Hermione's eyes went wide and he mouth dropped agape. She punched him on the arm hard which made him stop laughing "you are such an arse...I am NOT a child, Severus Snape!" She said trying to sound mad but failed miserably, which made laugh even more "the ass who happened to be your best friend too..." He said with a mischievous smile. She placed her hands on her waist and bit her lower lip before flinging herself to him and landing on his lap "the best best friend who happened to be an ass...and is mine..." She said giggling into his chest "thanks Sev..." She said into his chest and hugging him tighter "anytime Mia, anytime..." He said hugging her closer and kissing the top of her head.


	4. Say Something

A week after Hermione got sick, she slowly got back up, and in no time was up and running about. She was very thankful to Severus for looking after her. She gave him a loving kiss on the lips to show her appreciation to him; her kisses felt like fire in his belly and made his crabby heart skip a few beats, but he still hadn't told her that...

Saturday Morning dawned bright and beautiful. Spring was in the air, and Hermione felt wonderful. Although there weren't a lot of weekend getaways as much as she wanted, let alone weekends, she was still happy to teach the young minds, and work with Severus. Through time they've manage to be even closer. She learned to understand him even more, and managed to see through him at time; not always but most of the times...and it was like striking gold.

After rolling out of bed, she dressed in black yoga pants, a Griffyndor shirt and black jogging shoes, then walked outside of her bed chambers to her living room, to take her new pet dog named Scruffy. He came to her after crookshanks had died, it was a gift from Severus who said "he'll be able to take care of you whenever I can't..."

Hermione took the leash and whistled for Scruffy. The dog needed fresh air as much or worse than she did. He'd been pretty much neglected over the past few months as Hermione dealt with Ron not getting over their break-up well and the demands of her job. With Ron gone, there had been no one else to take him on walks, and while she'd done the best she could, Scruffy deserved better.

She grabbed his leash from where it hung on a hook in the entry way and called the dog, "Scruffy!" She whistled. "Ready to go on a run?" She heard the unmistakable sound of the dog's nails scraping over the hardwood floors as he sprinted towards her and crashed into her legs excitedly. She only just had time to brace herself. His excitement made her feel even more guilty. She pushed back the sting of tears, then quickly clipped the leash on the dog's collar before he could run away.

Hermione led him over to the door and opened it, and came face to face with Severus, who had a fist poised in front of him; obviously about to knock on her door. She let out a surprised yelp before she could stop herself and smiled instead happy to see him,but confused as well, "Sev, what are you doing here? You do know it's the weekends right? You're supposed to be sleeping in..."

He grimaced and dropped his hand, which drew her eyes down to his other hand that was tapping his fingers on his thigh. She'd learned over past year that that was one of his nervous tics. He didn't have many tells, and that was his main one.

His left eye twitched imperceptibly, "I came to speak to you, but I can come back another time."

She shook her head and sighed resignedly. As much as she talked about taking a day off away from her job, and in turn Severus, she found that she missed him when he wasn't around. Her growing feelings for him were confusing to her, and she often tried to avoid thinking about him so she wouldn't have to analyze herself. Her break-up had only been final for six months, and she didn't want any emotions that she might be starting to feel towards Severus to be confused with appreciation for his support during those dark months; because they were entirely different.

"I was just going to take Scruffy on a run, but we can walk if you want to come." He was dressed like normal, wearing a his black on black ensemble complete with his teaching robes, she must admit he did looked good in black, but other dark colors looked on him too, Some Dark Grey or Olive green would do him some good, it was one of her favorite colors on him because it was the perfect for his complexion.

He raised an eyebrow as if to ask where "I was thinking the dog park, in muggle London, the outskirts. 

He looked unsure for a moment, then nodded, "If it's not an imposition."

Hermione huffed a laugh and patted his shoulder mockingly, "Since when have you cared about imposing in my life? You've done it since day one." Her voice had taken on a teasing tone by the end.

Severus smiled, "I'm afraid I can't argue with that."

"you have to change though..." She said looking pointedly at his clothing, which made him smile. Severus quickly transfigured his robes into muggle clothing, again, black on black; black running sweat pants, black dri-fit long sleeves, and black trainers. Hermione though, couldn't help but to admire how his outfit had clung to his body like a second skin accentuating his muscular biceps, broad chest and flat stomach. She also couldn't help but notice how that parts showed off his cute butt. Severus must've seen her looking because when their eyes met, he raised her an eyebrow and smiled a little.

He turned and gestured with his arm, "After you."

Hermione walked ahead of him but then turned around again "don't forget to tie your hair, Hun..." She said as she walked away and tied her own hair back. Severus laughed softly and spelled his hair to tie back into a neat and noble pony tail.

Scruffy had sat quietly during their conversation, which was something of a surprise, but quickly ran in front of her as soon as she started to move out the door.

She was dragged down the stairs by the overeager dog, and had to pull on the leash as hard as she could to get him to slow down. As soon as he stopped, he started to investigate something that only he could see in the dirt next to the sidewalk as they walked to the apparition point. Severus caught up to them and put his hand on her elbow lightly to get her to begin walking again, then dropped it his side as they fell into a comfortable pace; the dog leading the way with his nose to the ground.

\--------Muggle London--------

The trees were beginning to bloom and the air smelt like spring. This time of year was Hermione's favorite because it signified a clean start, a new beginning if you will, and it helped her feel optimistic for her own future. There was something about snow and freezing cold temperatures that had sucked all the hope out of her the last few months, and she was glad that she could feel it beginning to come back.

They walked in companionable silence, both lost in their own thoughts. She found herself curious about why he had come by her house, but didn't want to break the silence with questions that he probably wouldn't answer anyway. She knows that he's around a lot since they've become closer. He had became her best friend along with so much more things, but he wouldn't come at least without a message that says "queue me into your wards, I'm coming in..." Or "I'll be there in 15.. .". Or just floo directly into her room. His hand brushed over her free one, and she glanced at him in the corner of her eye. He didn't look her way, and Hermione figured it had been accidental. They reached the dog park within minutes, and Hermione unclasped the leash so the dog could go where he pleased. They stood there watching him until Hermione turned to him and gestured towards a bench off to the side, "Do you want to sit?"

He nodded, then hooked her hand around his forearm and began to lead him over to the bench. His hand was warm on her bare skin, and she found herself moving closer to him as they walked out of habit.They reached the bench, sitting even closer than normal, and resumed watching the dog as he ran to every corner and sniffed around. She smiled at his antics, feeling happier than she could remember being in a while, and turned to Severus. "So what's going on?"

He crossed his legs, leaned against the back of the bench, and stretched his arms across the top; brushing her shoulders lightly. His eyes were hidden behind amber sunglasses that he sometimes wear when they're out and about, but she could see his mouth tighten as he decided how to answer her. "It doesn't matter, Mione. It's not a pressing matter, and it's one that can wait. Let's just enjoy this exquisite weather that we have the privilege of experiencing."

She squinted her eyes at him and poked this cheek making him look and arch up a brow at her. She shrugged and nodded, "You won't hear me complaining. I love this time of year."

He lifted his face in the air as if to bask in the sunlight, and Hermione couldn't tear her eyes away from his profile. His eyelashes caught in the sunlight, making them look darker. She fought down a little pang of jealously for his long lashes. They were something that women paid good money for; lucky bastard.

Her thoughts were interrupted by his fingers as they began to move over her shoulder lightly in soft strokes. He was a tactile person, and often touched her when the opportunity presented itself, but these touches seemed more intimate than normal. She decided not to make a big deal out of it because he was most likely trying to get a rise out of her, and she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. And a fact that she was already used to his small touches, that sometimes when he doesn't make these moves she misses it, but it's something that she's never going to tell him though or she'll never hear the end of it.

They sat in silence for another twenty minutes, comfortable enough with each other to not have to fill the silence with stilted conversation, and watched Scruffy have the time of his life. His fingers never stopped stroking her back and shoulder, and she never mentioned it, instead she scooted closer and leaned her head on his shoulder and placed her arm on his thigh for a better position.

Her stomach grumbled loudly, and she laughed as Severus glanced at her with narrowed eyes and said in exasperation, "You haven't eaten today have you? Why does that not surprise me?"

She shrugged, "I slept in and planned on eating after my run. You're the one to blame because you ruined my plans."

He huffed a small laugh, and put his arm completely around her shoulders, then rubbed his hand up and down her arm a few times. "Well I happen to know the owner of an American Diner just around here, Lily and I used to eat there whenever we can, and they have the best fatty foods you'll ever have."

She raised an eyebrow at him in skepticism, "Really, Sev? American Diner? I didn't take you for a diner eater."

He pulled his arm back from her shoulders and stood up, "You don't know a great deal about me Mione, but I do happen to indulge on a good comfort food every once in a while."

She fought the urge to stick her tongue out at him "so much for being your best friend... Not knowing that your best friend actually cares for less than high end food...normal people food..." She said nudging his ribs, which in turned made him rub in mock pain and stuck his tongue out at her. She tried to pout and give him an annoyed look but failed miserable so instead she smacked his face playfully.

He smiled faintly at her, then held his hand out so he could help her up. She grabbed his hand reluctantly and stood up, "American comfort food it is." He smiled brightly, and Hermione couldn't help but wish that he did that more often. He was much less intimidating with a big smile on his face, but she'd only seen that a few times since they'd started working together and became best friends.

She retrieved Scruffy quickly, then walked next to Severus as he regaled her with a story of a horrible experience he had eating out years ago. She was in stitches by the time they reached the stand, and could barely gasp out what she wanted so Severus could order for her. As she tried to calm herself down, she watched as Severus spoke with the man behind the take out bar. They acted like old friends, and Hermione wondered at their history. He was older with gray hair and a wrinkled face, but had a kind smile, and she found herself thinking of him as a grandfatherly type.

Severus patted him on the shoulder once more in farewell, then took the bag full of comfort food from him and made his way over to Hermione. They walked over to a picnic table and he handed her a small box of hot and sticky cinnamon rolls, some warm stacks of blueberry pancakes with mint-butter and golden maple syrup, warm French toast with strawberry coolie and some vanilla ice cream, breakfast waffles with lots of bacon and sausages, runny sunny side up eggs and more maple syrup, and of course a large thermos of coffee and a large thermos of breakfast tea, they way they both liked it, strong with a bit of sugar, no milk. Severus, then threw a piece of breakfast sausage towards Scruffy who was tied up nearby. 

She took a bite and moaned as she chewed. It really was the best she had ever had. She looked at Severus to tell him so, but froze at the look on his face as he stared at her. There was desire and arousal brewing in his expression, and she couldn't bring herself to tear her eyes away from his. After an indeterminable amount of time, he blinked and quickly masked his expression with a smirk, "Told you."

She felt whiplashed at the change, and tried to smile, but knew it came out as more of a grimace, "You did."

Hermione ate the rest of their food with only with less amount of enthusiasm, after finishing them off, she quickly stood up and said "I need to get back. I have things I need to do before it gets too late."

He nodded and stood up; he hadn't even touched his food yet. "Let me walk you home then."

 

They made it back to Hogwarts and her quarters in record time, and as Hermione turned to open the front door, Severus stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, "Thanks for letting me come with you. I enjoyed myself."

She nodded while avoiding eye contact; afraid she would see something else in his eyes that she wasn't ready to see. "Anytime. Thanks for introducing me to that amazing diner. I may have to eat there soon." She'd said that entire sentence while staring at his chest.

She turned again to walk in her house when he grabbed her bicep softly, "Mione, may I come in for a moment. I need to discuss something with you."

She smiled but was still confused, he wouldn't really normally ask to stay around and just hang because he was always around, why now? She somehow knew that something was off. But still she knew she opulent turn him down , "Sure, you can help me dust my room."

He huffed a laugh, "I don't think I'll be here for that long."

Hermione laughed and opened the door, then let Scruffy off of his leash and watched as he sprinted towards his water bowl; leaving her standing in the doorway alone with Severus. "Yeah, I really doubt that Sev... You almost live here with me, all you need is to bring in your clothes and you're basically my flat mate."

She walked in the living room and said over her shoulder, "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"Wine would be fine."

She rolled her eyes and turned to see him make himself at home on her couch, "Sev, it's eleven in the morning."

He pursed his lips and shrugged, "It's never too early to start drinking."

She shook her head at his absurdity, and walked in the kitchen to get him his wine and herself a bottle of water. She walked back in seconds later and handed him his drink, then sat down on the opposite end of the couch; curling her legs beneath her.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

He was in the middle of a drink, and she could see him grimace as he swallowed, "It's no matter. We can discuss it-"

She cut him off, "Sev, that's the second time you've changed your mind. What are you so scared to tell me?"

He reached up and loosened his tie, as if he felt like it was choking him, and cleared his throat, "How about some music?"

He saw the muggle contraption that he introduced him to that was called an "iPod" was idle...

She furrowed her eyebrows, "Huh?"

"I feel like listening to some music. I can see that your iPod is clearly docked and unused?"

She nodded, "I have my iPod down here in my docking station. What kind of music do you want to listen to?" She said sarcastically and stating the obvious, trying to humor him. He was so unnervingly...quiet; not that he was chatty, but he was even more...quiet.

He shrugged, "It doesn't matter."

He didn't often confuse her, but he was doing a good job of it at the moment. She set her water bottle down on the coffee table, then stood up and walked over to the docking station and turned the iPod and pressed shuffle. The first song was "Always Gold" by Radical Face. She smiled. She loved this group and all of their songs.

Hermione turned it up a little more, then sat back down on the couch. She glanced over at him and saw that he had his head leaned against the back of the couch and his eyes closed. Hermione wasn't going to be the one to break the silence again, so she was going to wait for him to say whatever he came in to say. They sat through three more songs in silence, and Hermione was beginning to get seriously annoyed with him. She had things to do.

The next song that started playing was "Say Something" by A Great Big World & Christina Aguilera. She loved this song, but it was infinitely sad, and it reminded her of things she had lost in her life.

"Say something, I'm giving up on you  
I'll be the one, if you want me to  
Anywhere I would've followed you  
Say something, I'm giving up on you"

She was lost in thought and didn't see Severus stood up and put a hand on her cheek tenderly, "Mia, dance with me."

"Sev." She felt silly even considering it.

His eyes were serious, "I'm not going to beg, but I would love it if you would indulge me at least once."

She sighed and nodded, "Fine."

"And I am feeling so small  
It was over my head  
I know nothing at all"

He pulled her up and led her to an open spot on the floor, then put his arm on her waist and held her hand to his chest with his as he started moving in time with the music. She tried not to think about the message of the song, but couldn't help but think it wasn't just a coincidence that he had asked her to dance to this song in particular.

"And I will stumble and fall  
I'm still learning to love  
Just starting to crawl"

She could smell his aftershave as she moved even closer to him. She glanced at him and saw that his eyes were closed as he continued to move fluidly with the music. He really was a wonderful dancer.

"Say something, I'm giving up on you  
I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you  
Anywhere I would've followed you  
Say something, I'm giving up on you"

She whispered his name quietly, "Sev".

He opened his eyes, and said in a low voice, "What is it, Mia?"

"What's going on?"

He sighed and pulled her flush against his chest, then wrapped his arms around her waist. She resisted for a millisecond before realizing that this was something that she wanted, but hadn't realized it before listening to the words of the song. She put her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his back, while he buried his face in her hair, then rubbed one of his hands up and down her spine softly.

"And I will swallow my pride  
You're the one that I love  
And I'm saying goodbye"

They danced in each others arms for a few more moments before she heard him clear his throat near her ear, "Mia, I came here to tell you something, but I don't think you're ready to hear what I have to say. I don't want to scare you away, you're too important to me."

"Say something, I'm giving up on you  
And I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you  
And anywhere I would've followed you  
Say something, I'm giving up on you"

She pulled back slightly so she could look him in the eye; he looked worried. "I think I'm more ready than you think. Please tell me." She thought she knew what he wanted to say, but wasn't going to put words in his mouth.  
He pursed his lips for a moment, then said, "I know it hasn't been long since your break-up, but I can't keep going on without you knowing what I feel for you." He paused and glanced away, then back at her, "Mia, I'm in love with you, and have been for a long while. It's getting more difficult to keep my distance from you, especially when I can see you hurting. I don't know how much longer I can carry on like this."

Hermione laid her head back on his shoulder, more than a little shocked at his declarations. She didn't know if she loved him yet, but she had strong feelings for him; stronger than she'd ever felt for any man. He was harder to resist than the pull of gravity.

"Say something, I'm giving up on you  
Say something..."

As the last words of the song played over the speakers, she turned her face and kissed his jaw softly, then said against his skin, "I think I'm falling in love with you."

He pushed her shoulders back softly until he could look at her in the face; his eyes betraying his nervousness, "What are you saying?"

She smiled and ran a hand down his cheek, "I'm saying I don't want you to give up on me. I want to see where we can go, but you have to be patient."

Hermione leaned forward and kissed him softly. He returned the kiss, but didn't try to deepen it. They moved together perfectly, their lips moving in harmony until he pulled back and put his forehead against hers.

She finally felt like she found her center again, and It was a wonderful feeling.

He pulled back and cupped her jaw with both of his hands, then smiled, "Good thing I'm a patient man."

He wrapped his arms around her again, and she melted into him as he led her in time to the next song. She hadn't realized what she'd been missing these past few months, and was grateful that this man had imposed himself into her life. She suddenly couldn't imagine her world without him in it. After all he is her best friend, her confidant, and her protector and maybe soon enough...her lover, even her partner.


	5. She's Got A Boyfriend Now

*you can't hurry love, you just have to wait; it's a game of give and take*

"Mione, come on, you have to come! Can't you just tell your boss you have to go out of town for the weekend or something?" Hermione's childhood best friend, Jennifer Iverson said over the phone, her voice sounding tinny.

Hermione stood up from her chair in her office and walked to the enchanted window as she recalled her phone conversation in muggle London earlier that day to her childhood best friend, "Jen, you know I can't just leave at a moment's notice. I know I promised you months ago that I would come, but a lot of things have happened since then. There isn't any way my boss would let me just leave; it's almost in time for the children's examinations."

Hermione sat back down in her chair heavily, feeling guilty for reneging on her promise. She had planned on asking Severus for this weekend off, but completely forgot about it until now.

"I get that you have a hard ass boss, but this is really important to me Mione. Joe and I have been engaged for so long that I didn't think we'd ever get married, and now that we're actually going through with it, you can't even come. You're my maid of honor, what am I supposed to do?" Her voice was near hysterical.

Hermione picked up a quill and toyed with it with her fingers, "I'm sorry, Jen, but I really don't know what to tell you. I just hope you can forgive me."

"You're my best friend, of course I can forgive you, but I'm still really upset. Remember when we were little girls and we promised to be at each others weddings? Well that's obviously not going to happen now." She sounded even more upset than before.

Hermione threw the quill down on the desk and let out an exasperated breath, "Oh, come on Jen, that's not fair. I would come if I could."

"Yeah, well it doesn't feel like you're trying very hard. Look, we'll talk later, I have to go. Bye."

"Wait, Jen-" She was cut off by the "end call" beep on her cell.

Hermione sighed and closed her eyes. She wished that she could go more than anything, but as Minerva was retiring, she was being trained to be the new Head of House and there was still the NEWTS and the OWLS, there was no chance for sure she could come... She could only hope that she could persuade Severus, but that seemed too impossible! 

This was one of those times she felt like cursing Severus Snape for persuading her to be the new Potions Mistress when he retained his position...and how he talked her into saying YES to Minerva, in all honesty if Remus was being promoted to as the deputy headmaster, Sirius could use the extra responsibility and be Head of House... Or Remus could still can like Minerva did, but noooooo Severus persuaded her to say YES to Minerva, she wanted so bad to be angry at him, but no matter how hard she tries,she just can't stay mad at him. "Ugh!! Sev I hate you so much right now..." She said as her eyes landed on the picture of the two of them on her desk. Severus looked like a little boy smiling while she look like a total dork... Well a cute dork.

She leaned forward and put her head in her hands. She felt like crying. It wasn't fair that she was always stuck at work at the beck and call of almost everyone!. She hadn't had a real day off in months and was exhausted. She'd been single ever since her break-up with Ron for over a year now and she still wasn't used to sleeping alone, and as a result she never did get a good night's sleep; it was beginning to take its toll. Severus slept with her sometimes since he had declared his feelings, but it was just sometimes; and she only had a good nights sleep whenever he was there cuddling her. "I don't want to be labeled friends with benefits with you Mia; but for you... I'll be more than happy too..." She remembered him saying to her, and for that she was grateful.

Her office door opened, but she didn't bother to look up; it was probably Remus or Sirius anyway...possibly Harry.

"Miss Granger, are you in the habit of sleeping when you're supposed to be working?" It was Minerva. Shit.

Hermione shot up and smoothed her hair and clothes quickly, "I wasn't asleep, Professor, just thinking."

She walked in further and stood by her desk, "Well since it's almost the Easter Holidays, I am urging you to have a much needed vacation, Merlin knows I've finally asked Severus to take one for himself, and I won't take no as an answer young lady, we can handle things here." She said with a motherly smile.

Hermione gave her a warm smile, "In that case, Professor, I have a favor to ask."

Minerva raised her eyebrows in question, so she continued, "My best friend's getting married in Manchester tomorrow and I'm supposed to be her maid of honor. Can I take my vacation there even just for the weekend?"

Minerva shrugged her shoulders, "As long as you have a vacation, I don't see a problem with it." She turned and began walking out of her office, then said over her shoulder, "Have fun, Hermione... Oh and if you could take Severus with you, that would be perfect, child..."

"Thank you, Professor, see you Monday." The only sign that she'd heard her was a slight tilt of his head towards her as she walked out of her office and shut the door.

Hermione smiled, she couldn't believe her luck. Now she had to call Jen back and hope that she answered her phone.

Hoping for the best, Hermione ran back to her quarters and hoped her telephone worked (yes she brought in a muggle phone)

"Hermione, I told you I don't have time to talk." She was definitely still upset.

"So guess who just got the entire weekend off and can come to your wedding now?"

Jen laughed, "Seriously? I thought you were in the middle of a case and couldn't get off?"

"Something unexpected happened, and now I'm free. Do you still want me to be your maid of honor?" Hermione began putting things away in her drawers, and chests, attempting to tidy up her place a little if she were leaving.

"I'm so glad I don't have to find anyone else. You've always been the only one I ever wanted to be my maid of honor."

Hermione smiled, "Well I'm glad I can come. I plan floo-flying tonight so I should get there late tonight or early tomorrow morning. The wedding's at 11:00 right?" Looking around, she stood up and grabbed a parchment to owl Severus.

"Yes, it's at 11:00. You still have the dress I sent you, right? Did it fit?"

Hermione began walking out of her living room, "It fit perfectly, everything is going to be perfect tomorrow." She went to the window and called for her owl, "Xeno", placing the missive on his foot she told him to go to Severus.

Jen sighed happily, "I hope so." She paused, then continued, "Oh, who's going to be your plus one?"

Hermione walked to the kitchenette a little shocked. That was the worst thing about going to weddings without a significant other. People always asked what was going on in her dating life, or asked if they could set her up; it was awkward, and frankly it made it a lot less fun for her.

She heard the floo Come off and smiled. Severus.

She glanced to her right and saw Severus leaning against the side of the archway in his casual robes with his arms crossed, and a smirk on his face. His hair was tied back, and he looked a little tired, but she could still read his expression just fine. "Just a second, Jen."

She pulled her phone down and whispered, "You're s bit early, I told you to come in an hour or so?" Kissing him on the cheek with a small smile on her face

He pushed away from the side of the archway and stepped closer to her, "I came to see if I could take you out to dinner, Mia, then Xeno came crashing down on me... I read the missive, and seeing as I'm on my way, why wait?." He ran a hand in her cheek and tucked a piece of stray hair, and looked at her closely, "But obviously you're busy."

Hermione bit her lip, thinking about asking him to do something that she wasn't entirely sure she wanted him to do. Their relationship was a bit complicated, and she didn't really know where she stood with him most of the time. They often went out to dinner and spent a lot of their downtime together, but nothing ever happened beyond that; they hadn't even made out properly, just a few languid kisses, which in turn she still loved so much. She hated the constant mind games, of him being a gentleman, and her asking for him to be patient. She wants something to happen, but she doesn't want for either any of them to regret whatever will happen.

She was desperate though, she really didn't want to be set up with Jen's crazy uncles cousin or nephew. She could hear Jen talking over the phone, "Hello? Hermione?"

Hermione gave Severus a small smile, then put her phone back to her ear, "Hey Jen, I'll call you back."

She heard Jen say a faint "Ok", before she ended the call and pushed the end button and turned to Severus pinning him between herself and the kitchen island.

He had his eyebrows raised and his head tilted slightly in question, "What is it, Mione?"

Hermione winced and looked everywhere but at him, "Look Sev, I have a huge favor to ask, and I'll understand if you don't want to do it."

He stepped closer, their bodies inches apart, "Come out with it Mia, I don't have all day."

She rolled her eyes but didn't step back, and said quickly, "Ineedyoutopretendtobemyfianceatmyfriendsweddingtomorrow."

He laughed out loud, his laugh warm and deep, "I'm sorry, I'm terribly hard of hearing and didn't understand a word you said." She knew damn well that he'd heard and understood her, but she repeated it anyway, slower this time, "I need you to pretend to be my fiancé at my friend's wedding tomorrow."

He moved away and scratched his head with his free hand, not looking at her as he said, "Whatever for?"

"Ugh!" She almost screamed and punched him lightly on the chest "you're my best friend!! Safe to say you're even courting me, Sherlock!!" Severus just rolled his eyes and laughed a little "and?" He teased

"I'm the maid of honor at my best friend's wedding tomorrow, which by the way I didn't think I was going to be able to go to until just recently, and I don't want people trying to set me up on blind dates, or asking me why I'm single. It would just be easier to bring my "fiancé" so people won't bother me."

Severus bit his lip, looking like he was actually considering her request. She didn't say anything as he remained silent for a few more moments.

Before she could process what he was doing, he moved towards her quickly and pushed her body against the side of the isle flipping them over and setting her stop the aisle. His mouth was on her neck in seconds, leaving hot, open-mouthed kisses as he worked his way up to her ear, then whispered, "If you want me to pretend to be engaged to you, you'll have to be convincing. Do you think you can accomplish that?" He began kissing the shell of her ear before moving his fingers along her collarbone and his mouth down her jaw. She was so lost in the sensation of his mouth on her skin, that she didn't even think to protest. All she could do was nod and whisper a weak, "Yes, I do."

He leaned back and looked at her, their mouths inches apart, his eyes serious, "Then prove it. I don't think you can play the part, because no offense, you're not a very good actress." She smacked him hard on the chest "ow!" He almost bellowed "that really hurt..." He said as he rubbed the spot on his chest that she just smacked

Hermione shook her head to clear it, then shoved him back, "I don't have to prove anything, Sev. If you agree to come, then I'll make sure and play my part. All I ask is that you play yours."

He smirked again, "Oh, Mione, that won't be a problem at all." He tilted his head again, then said, "I would love to come with you to the wedding. I didn't have much planned this weekend besides acupuncture, and that can wait."

She shook her head, not even going there with the acupuncture comment, but gave him faint smile, "I really do appreciate it. You'll be saving me from a lot of embarrassing and awkward moments over the next few days."

He stood back and started preparing tea for the both of them "Just know Mia,that I know Minerva asked you to have a vacation and as well as that I'm being thrown out of the castle too... I'd love nothing more than to spend those times with you."

She flung herself to him and hugged him tightly and peppered his face with small kisses "thank you so much..." She said with a small smile. Severus tried to keep his smile at bay but failed miserably. So he smiled instead and kissed her temple "anytime sweetie, anytime."

She reached out for he wand as she started to prepare for her departure.  
"Sev, when we go to the wedding ,you can't go wearing all black, yeah?" 

Severus arched an eyebrow as he poured out the tea, and prepared it to their taste. "And why is that I could not wear black, my petal?" He asked albeit a little sarcastically. 

Hermione smiled and looked at him; "it's a wedding Sev, not a funeral..."

Severus just shrugged and sipped at his tea; "Whatever floats your boat, luv...". Hermione rolled her eyes as she took the cup he was offering her.cHe was going to test her limits this weekend, and she had to be at the top of her game.

She went to her phone and called Jen back, "Hey Mione, so what's going on?"

HerMione winced, she had to lie to Jen about Severus, but she didn't see any other way around it, "I'm bringing my fiancé to the wedding as my plus one. I just thought I would let you know." She braced herself for Jen's response.

"WHAT? You're engaged and you haven't even told me yet?!"

"It's...recent. I was planning on surprising you at the wedding. I'm sorry about not telling you sooner."

Jen laughed, "Don't apologize, I'm happy that you finally found someone. So tell me about him."

Hermione smiled, "I'll tell you all about him tomorrow, I'm doing a bit of an arrangement here for my Puppy, and now and need to pack."

Jen sighed dramatically, "Fineeee..I'll see you later tonight. I can't wait to meet this man of yours!"

They disconnected and Hermione kissed Severus cheek as she flooed Hagrid about Scruffy. Things just became ten times more complicated, but in her mind, it was worth every potential complication.

She wanted to tell her so much right now. Like how he was the perfect gentleman who wanted nothing but to protect and care for her. He is her best friend; very unexpected but very welcomed indeed. Severus was one of a kind; one of a kind because he was not only The Bat of The Dungeons, and the Headmaster, but also one of a kind because he was the only man who could make a woman feel like she is the center of his universe. "This is going to be one hell of a weekend..." She said as she stood from the fireplace and went back to where her "Fiance" was....


	6. Passenger's Seat

*and I've got all that I need, right here in the passenger's seat...*

"Mione, do try to watch where you're going, I would like to make it to the wedding alive and not in a bloody body bag." Severus joked from his place on the passenger's side

"I didn't even know out could drive a muggle car, I mean, the last time I saw you in a car was with Weasley on that blue car Arthur brought home...and you weren't the one driving then..." He said if a bit uncomfortable.

Hermione rolled her eyes and passed another diesel that was moving slowly. "Sev, I am watching where I'm going. I'm a good driver." She glanced at him with a smirk, "I've never gotten a ticket or been arrested, so what now?"

She saw him grip the side of the door as she swerved around a slow moving cattle truck. "It just tells me that you've never been caught, and honestly, I don't know how you've gotten away with it over the years."

She smiled, but kept her eyes on the road, "I just know how to get out of tickets."

She saw him shake his head out of the corner of her eye, then turn and watch the landscape pass by as he looked on the passing scenery.

They had left Heathrow airport after apparating, and decided to go back to London... The muggle way, and that was over two hours ago, and he still hadn't relaxed since she'd insisted that she be the one to drive. He was used to being in control, and he didn't like being at her mercy; it made her feel powerful, like she was actually dictating what happened between them for once.

She glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost 7:00 PM. She turned down the radio that was blaring some cheesy country song and said, "So I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

He turned to her, "You're driving has caused me to feel a little sick to my stomach." He ran a hand absent-mindedly over vest-clad stomach. She shook her head and punched his arm hard, "Sev, stop being such a baby, seriously, if you're going to be like this all weekend we can just turn around and pretend that you came down with the flu"

He rubbed his arm where she punched it, a pained expression on his face, "Well it wouldn't be too much of a stretch. I already feel like I'm going to lose the contents of my stomach soon."

They passed a sign that indicated the next exit had places to eat. She wasn't going to starve just because he was being dramatic. She took the exit, then looked at Severus as they stopped at a red light, "I'm going to eat, you can hold my food for me if you don't feel like getting anything."

He pursed his lips and nodded, not bothering to answer as she drove the car towards the closest fast-food place, which was a Burger King. She quickly ordered her food, and asked Severus if he wanted anything, but he just shook his head so Hermione decided to get him a Red Velvet Milkshake and two Reeses pie then drove back on the main road with her food in one hand and with the other hand on the steering wheel. If it had been possible, he looked to be even more nervous than before. She wasn't used to this much expression from the normally stoic Severus. She put her sandwich on her leg, then handed Severus her waffle fries and said in a overly sweet mocking tone, "Hey, will you hold these for me?"

With a quiet sigh, he pinched the package with two fingers in disdain, and put it in between his thighs to hold it in place. She smiled as he sipped on the milkshake and actually smiled a bit "you should eat your pie... It's really good..." She said and he looked at her, shrugged his shoulders at took a bite moaning in delight "if you were trying to bribe me Mione for letting you drive, it worked this time..." She ate for the next ten minutes in blissful silence, too hungry to do anything but eat and drive. She reached for a french fry without glancing down, but instead accidentally grabbed a part of his trousers, and didn't come up with a waffle fry. She heard a quiet intake of breath, then he said in an overly smug voice, "Mia, sweetheart, we don't have to pretend to be engaged here. I don't think you're ready to deal with the consequences that might come about because of where your hand is now."

She swallowed and glanced down unwillingly, then quickly moved her hand and groaned. It had been over his crotch, and she was beyond embarrassed. "Sev, I'm so sorry, you...I...you know I didn't do that on purpose."

She saw him smile, then he turned up the radio, "How much longer do we have in this dreadfully cramped car? Honestly Mione, I would have never have agreed to you when we rented this car if I would have known that the leg room is non-existent."

She didn't answer him, still too embarrassed to look at him, let alone say anything. He looked at her, then reached his hand over and put it on the back of her neck. He squeezed it softly, then said in a low voice, "Don't be embarrassed, it was an accident and I'm certainly not going to hold it against you."

She cleared her throat and said quietly, "Thank you."

She listened to the music on the radio and watched him as he sang along quietly 

*i look at her and have to smile, as we go driving for a while  
Her hear blowing in the open window of my car  
As we go I see the light, I was them glimmer in her eyes  
Tried to tell her simply ...*

Hermione can feel the song moving in his veins, she could also tell that it was one of his favourites just by the look on his facets he continued to sing

*that I've got all that I need, right here in the passenger's seat  
And I can't take my eyes on the road, knowing that she's inches from me*

"I really like this song..." Severus said as he bobbed his head along to the beat which made her smile.

After that incident, her driving became noticeably less wild, and more under control. He didn't remove his hand from her neck, and quietly massaged her neck and shoulders for a while; it was beginning to make her drowsy. She placed a hand on his knee and glanced at him, "You're going to put me to sleep if you don't stop that. Thanks for helping me relax though, and to answer your question from earlier, we have about two hours left."

He removed his hand and leaned his elbow on the arm rest, "Do you need me to drive?"

"You. drive?" Hermione asked him if a bit sarcastically but Severus laughed it off. "I am a Half-blood Mia, I learned to drive one summer when I was doing odd jobs after Hogwarts to earn money for my Mastery..." He said and continued "Do you need me to drive?" 

She shook her head, immediately missing the warmth of his hand, "No, I'm fine actually, you were just relaxing me a little too much."

He nodded and stretched out in his seat as much as possible, then leaned his chair back a little. "In that case, I'm going to try to rest." He grabbed his scarf from where it was lying on the backseat and put it on low over his face.

She changed the radio station to a soft rock station and settled back further into her seat. She was glad that Severus hadn't made a big deal out of what happened, but the thought going through her mind at the moment was that she hadn't minded where her hand had been either; and that worried her.

She drove into London, then to Manchester exactly two hours later. She'd listened to Severus snore quietly for the last hour. She was already used to it, and she knew that when he scored he was actually at ease. On the first night she discovered and found that she was glad that she had finally found something that he wasn't perfect at; even if it was breathing while he slept. That ridiculous thought caused her to laugh quietly, and his breathing changed immediately. She reached over and took the scarf off of his face, "We're here, you might want to wake up."

He yawned and sat up slowly, his back making cracking noises, "Im sorry Mione, I didn't mean to sleep the entire way."

She shrugged, "It gave me time to think, so the quiet was kind of nice." She saw him narrow his eyes at her, but she continued before he could comment, "Will you grab the invitation out of the glove-box? I'm not sure what hotel we're staying in."

He reached forward and found the invitation quickly, then turned on the overhead light and squinted at the small lettering. She heard him mutter, "Damn small letters", then he pulled out some reading glasses out of his shirt pocket and began reading the invitation silently. They were stopped at a red light, and she found herself admiring the way he looked in glasses. He was too sexy for his own good, and he knew it too.

He glanced up and caught her staring, then smirked and said, "All the guests are staying at the Hotel Gotham... What is this Batman? "He asked with a little scoff and continued reading, "which is also where the wedding is being held." He told her the address, which she put in her GPS at another red light, then they drove in silence toward the hotel; she was both dreading and looking forward to what was to come.

Fifteen minutes later she pulled into a parking space in front of a large hotel. She couldn't really make out the details because it was dark, but she could tell it was really nice. Severus whistled quietly, "Posh... Very... Posh. Lucius would be like a kid in a candy store if he sees this place..."

She stepped out of the car without saying anything and opened the trunk. She was ready to check in and relax. She walked around the silver Mercedes and began taking her luggage out. Severus stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, "I've got this...Oh, and before I forget, you need to put this on." He extended his other arm in front of her.

She glanced down and sucked in a breath. In-between his thumb and forefinger was a ring glinting in the overhead lights of the parking lot. She couldn't see the details, but she could tell it was expensive and absolutely perfect. She took it hesitantly, then looked up at him, "Sev, this is too much. I can't-"

He cut her off, "Nonsense, Mia, you're supposed to be marrying me, so you need to have a ring. Try it on." He turned and began taking their luggage out of the trunk.

She slipped it on, and of course it was a perfect fit; as if he had just bought it for her. She didn't want to think about the implications of that. He reached for her hand and kissed her knuckles and have her a bright smile.

She looked up and smiled at him, "It's perfect. Thank you." She reached up and ran a hand down his chest lightly, and kissed him chastely on the lips then grabbed a suitcase and began walking towards the front door. She heard him following her soon after, and stopped at the door to wait for him before going inside. He caught up, but she still avoided looking at him in the eye as they walked in together and to the front desk. She glanced around as they walked, and was completely blown away at the elegant decorations; it was nicer than any hotel or spa she had ever been in her life. They reached the front desk and were greeted by a stunning blonde woman who looked like she belonged on the cover of a magazine, and not working at a hotel. She smiled widely at them, her perfect, white teeth gleaming in the light, and said in a cheery voice, "Welcome to the Hotel Gotham, my name is Heidi, what can I do for you tonight?"

Hermione smiled, trying not to feel completely intimidated by the woman's looks, "We're here for the Iverson/Ward wedding."

Heidi began typing on the computer in front of her, then looked up and smiled again, "Of course. All of the guests for that wedding are staying on the third floor, and it looks like you guys are the last to arrive."

Heidi looked at Severus, and smiled even wider with a look of curiosity on her face, "Will you two be staying in the same room, or do we need to find another room?"

Severus snaked an arm around Hermione's waist and pulled her against him, "We'll be staying in the same room. She's my fiance." Hermione tried not to wince or pull away as he moved his hand up her side, finally stopping near her breast.

Heidi nodded, "Of course, Sir. I'm required to ask, we can't ever assume anything."

Severus nodded as Heidi began typing on her computer again. Severus began toying with the side band of her bra with his fingers over her shirt, and she elbowed him discreetly to get him to stop. She heard him huff an amused laugh before he pulled away and leaned against the desk casually.

A few moments later, Heidi handed him two key cards and said, "You're all set, your room number is 337. If you have any questions, feel free to call the front desk. Do you need someone to carry your luggage?"

Hermione shook her head, "We can handle it, thanks."

"Very well, have a good night and I hope you both enjoy your stay at the Hotel Gotham

Hermione gave her a closed mouth smile and said, "Thank you", then followed Severus as he began walking towards the bank of gold-colored elevators. As she walked, she stared at her reflection in the gleaming floor. She thought she looked drawn and tired, and felt embarrassed that she looked like that in front of "Perfect" Heidi. Severus already had the call button pushed by the time she reached him, and he glanced at her with furrowed eyebrows, "What's wrong, Mia?"

She clenched her jaw and shook her head, "Nothing, I'm just tired." She could tell that he didn't believe her, but she tried to ignore it, so he slipped closer and hugged her to him "you're the one that I'm in love with Mia, no completion there..." He said and kissed her temple. Hermione sighed and looked at him, he tried to give her a smile but she wouldn't budge so he did the next best thing; he kissed her on the lips "you're my only one..." He smiled, Hermione just rolled her eyes and he laughed "that's my girl" but before he could continue Hermione pulled out her phone and dialed Jens number, fortunately she picked up on the third ring "Hermione, are you guys here yet?"

Hermione smiled and said, "We just got here. We're actually on our way up to the third floor right now."

She heard an excited squeal, "I'll meet you there now. Bye!"

She stuck her phone back in her pocket and smiled at the look on Severus' face; he looked a little worried. "Is there anything that I should be aware of about this Jen woman?"

Hermione laughed lightly, "She's a little eccentric, but harmless, just go with the flow." She reached forward and fixed his crooked tie and locked eyes with him, "Thanks again for coming with me, Sev."

He tilted his head slightly and opened his mouth to say something, but the elevator doors slid open and a screaming woman came running through and essentially tackle-hugged her. "Hermione! It's been way too long since we've seen each other. I can't believe you're here!"

Hermione laughed and hugged her back, "I can't believe it either. I'm so glad I got the time off." She glanced around the elevator, "This is worth it."

Jen stepped back and looked at Severus for the first time. She looked him up and down, as if she was sizing him up, then said to Hermione, "And who's this?"

HerMione stepped up to Severus and wrapped her hand around his elbow, "This is my fiance, Severus Snape." She looked at Severus, "Sev, this is my childhood and current best friend, Jennifer Iverson."

Severus gave one of his rare smiles and held his hand out to Jen, "It's nice to finally meet you, Jen. Mione here has told me a lot of stories about you two." He was oozing charm, and she could tell Jen was already being swayed by it. Jen shook his hand and smiled, "It's nice to meet you too. Hermione didn't even tell me she was seeing anyone, then suddenly she's engaged. You must move fast."

Severus moved his arm out of Hermione's grasp and put it around her shoulders, "Oh, we've known each other for a while, but I finally convinced her to marry me." He leaned over and kissed her temple softly, then pulled back and smiled at Jen.

Jen looked at Hermione, "You'll have to tell me all about it later, but I think we need to move out of the elevator now, we're holding it up." Severus released her, then they both picked up their luggage and followed Jen out of the elevator and onto the third floor. Jen turned and looked at Hermione, "So I made sure your guys' room is next to mine so you won't have to wander the hallway going from room to room after we talk late into the night."

That was the last thing Hermione wanted, because Jen could possibly overhear anything she and Severus might say to each other. Hermione placed on a smile, hoping it looked convincing, "Oh, that's a great idea. Thank you."

They reached their room and Jen turned to them, "Well, I'm going to go finish some last-minute wedding preparations and let you two get settled." She glanced at Hermione, "Come knock on my door when you're ready to talk." She smiled and opened her own door, then walked inside.

Hermione let out the breath she'd been holding, then turned to Severus and whispered, "I'm so sorry. I didn't know we'd be right next to her."

Severus shook his head and said in a low voice, "Why don't we take this conversation inside." He stepped forward and slid the card in, then opened the door for her to walk in. She grabbed her luggage, then stepped inside and set her things down on the floor by the bed and glanced around the room. The room was large, with a dark brown and tan color scheme. The California King bed in the middle of the room had a white bedspread with brown trim around the edges and fluffy brown pillows accenting it. There was a couch and two chairs next to the bed, with tan drapes hanging in front of the large window; she loved it already.

She turned to see Severus loosening his cravat and unbuttoning his waistcoat. He looked tired and ready for bed. She glanced at the clock that was sitting on the bedside table and saw that it was nearing 10:00 PM. She felt ready for bed herself, but knew Jen wanted to talk to her. He moved closer to him so he could speak quietly, "I can take the couch, and you can have the bed. I know your b-"

She stopped him with a hand on her arm, "Why now Sev? We've slept together before it's going to be fine . What if Jen let herself in and saw that we weren't sleeping together? The bed is large, we probably won't even see each other, which is disappointing because I like the way you cuddle me." He stepped closer, then leaned down and whispered in her ear, "You know I wouldn't object to any kind of touching."

She laughed quietly, then pushed him back a little, "If you're sure, then I don't have a problem with it."

He shook his head, "You smell nice by the way, new perfume?" He took a step back and slid off his waistcoat and cravat then began unbuttoning his dress shirt; she couldn't tear her eyes away as each button revealed more and more skin.

She was startled from her thoughts by his quiet, rumbly laugh, "Mia, did you hear me?"

Hermione blinked and looked up sheepishly, "I didn't, sorry, what did you say?"

He smirked with a knowing look, "I asked if you're going to shower now, or can I go ahead and use it?"

"Oh, you can go use it. I'm going to go talk to Jen for a few minutes while you're in there." She wanted to talk to Jen mostly so she could distract herself from thinking about Severus in the shower.

He nodded and she watched as he walked over to his luggage and pulled out clothes to sleep in. His dress shirt was completely unbuttoned, and all she could look at was the tantalizing glimpses of skin every so often; it was entirely too distracting. She turned and walked out the door quickly before she did something that she might regret later, then knocked on Jen's door.

Jen answered quickly and grabbed Hermione's arm, then pulled her inside and shut the door behind her.

She led Hermione over to the couch and sat down next to her. The look on her face was curious as she said, "So, um..while I think Severus is super handsome, isn't he a little old for you?"

Hermione laughed out loud, the first time she'd laughed like that in months, "He might be, but I love him. Isn't that all that matters?"

Jen smiled, "Yeah, true. Joe's nine years older than me, and I thought that was pushing it. How much older is he than you?"

Hermione sat back on the couch, suddenly tired. She didn't want to talk about Severus' age, or anything else really, she just wanted to sleep. "He's quite a bit older, I'm not telling you the exact number, but like I said before, it doesn't matter to me. He treats me right and adores me..what else could I possibly ask for?"

HerMione smiled and thought at what she said. Severus was almost half her age, but she didn't really care, it was the first time too that she had told anybody else that she loved him. She hasn't told him yet but she knew deep within that she loved him just the same as he loved her.

Jen smiled and leaned her back against the arm rest, "You're right. Age shouldn't matter, and boy is he charming. Is he like that all the time?"

Hermione nodded, "Most of the time...especially when he wants to be, and I don't think he was even trying with you. He's hard to resist."

Jen laughed, "I can certainly see the appeal." She sighed, "Those long dark eyelashes, that silky hair, the way his trousers fit him in all the right places..mmm..definitely can see why you like him."

Hermione slapped Jen's knee softly and said teasingly, "Hey, you're getting married tomorrow. Stop ogling my man."

Jen held up her hands in surrender and smiled mischievously, "Hey, I can look, just not touch." She reached towards Hermione's left hand and said, "Let me see your ring."

Hermione held her hand close to Jen's face so she could look at it. "Wow, he must be loaded. This is beautiful...and huge."

Hermione smiled and looked at the ring closely for the first time. It really was huge, but she loved it. It had one large princess cut diamond in the center, then multiple small diamonds on either side of the large diamond, In the color of their houses; it really was something that she would choose for herself. Hermione smiled, "Thank you. He knows me well."

Hermione already felt lighter and worry-free; she'd needed this talk with Jen more than she'd realized. She realized so much more now, the ring that he had picked out is beautiful, her statement was spot on too; indeed, he knows her well. He was so much mor than just a best friend protector material. He is definitely someone you can lean on in times of sadness and happiness. He was a pot of gold.

They talked for another hour about anything and everything, but towards the end Hermione was yawning more than she was talking. Jen patted her arm, "Why don't you go to bed. We can talk more sometime tomorrow."

Hermione nodded and stood up, "Sounds good. I can't wait to see you finally tie the knot." She pulled Jen into a tight hug for a few seconds, then pulled back and smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow at 10:00 AM sharp so we can go over everything for the wedding."

Jen nodded, "Ok, have a good night. Remember I'm right next to you..so please try to keep anything you do quiet."

Hermione smiled and shook her head, "I don't think you'll have to worry about that tonight. He's probably already asleep."

"Good. I need a good nights sleep." She smiled at Hermione teasingly.

Hermione bade her goodnight again, then made her way over to her own room. She walked into the dark room quietly, and saw Severus' silhouette on the bed highlighted by the moonlight that was streaming through the window from the open drapes. She stopped and listened, hearing his soft snoring once again, and smiled. It really was endearing in a strange way.

She found her suitcase quickly, then walked into the bathroom and got ready for bed; she would shower tomorrow morning. After she finished, she walked out of the bathroom and over to the bed. Severus was laying dead-center on it, but she didn't have the heart to wake him up, so she crawled under the blankets and turned on her side facing him, but before she settled down, she placed a kiss on his temple and snuggled as close as she could. She took a deep, calming breath and smelled Severus' familiar aftershave. If anyone ever asked her what her three favorite smells were in the world, she'd say: Severus' aftershave, Severus' cologne, and rain. She wasn't sure what that said about her, but she didn't want to examine it closer for fear of what she might find out.

She closed her eyes and relaxed. She could think about her feelings for Severus later, right now she needed to sleep because she had to get up in seven hours for a wedding; and pretend to be engaged to someone she already had feelings for. Oh boy.

That's when Severus put his arm around her and pulled her flush against him, then began placing light kisses on the back of her neck while his hand moved under the waistband of her shorts.


	7. Dreaming of You

*coz I'm dreaming of you tonight, till tomorrow, I'll be holding you tight.*

"Severus! What the bloody hell are you doing?" Hermione whispered as she stopped the downward progress of his hand with her own over her shorts, then held it there while he continued to kiss her neck. With his lips against her skin he mumbled,"Mmm..Mia, what does it look like I'm doing?"

She turned over to face him with furrowed eyebrows, not believing how forward he was being after months of hardly any affection towards her. She squinted at his face in the dark and saw that his eyes were closed; he was asleep. The hand that she had previously stopped, resumed moving over her body, cupping her ass under her shorts, and then moving up her back lightly. She had to wake him up, even if she was enjoying what he was doing.

She reached her hand up and shook his shoulder, "Sev, wake up." His hand didn't stop as it began moving around to her stomach.

She shook his shoulder a little harder and said, "Severus." The damned hand was close to reaching her breasts; desperate measures had to be taken.

Hermione grabbed his face with both of her hands, then leaned forward and kissed him, sliding her lips over his insistently until he began to respond, then she started pulling at the little hairs at the nape of his neck with her fingers to wake him up. After a moment, he pulled away and said in confusion, "Mia, as much as I'm enjoying this, what are you doing?"

She slid away from him quickly, his hand sliding down her stomach under her shirt and to the bed; she needed space from his growing arousal. "You were groping me in your sleep. I didn't know what else to do."

He blinked slowly, still half asleep and said, "I apologize. I was having the best dream; it's not often that I have good dreams." She could guess what he was dreaming about, and blushed, glad that it was dark so he couldn't see it.

She cleared her throat uncomfortably, "Well, now that you're awake, I'm going to try to sleep. Good night, Sev."

He put his hand on her shoulder, "Mione." His voice was low and apologetic.

She ignored him and hugged a pillow to her body. She breathed in and out deeply to calm her racing heart, then listened to Severus as he sighed he turned away from her. She felt bad for ignoring him, but their relationship was in limbo, and she didn't feel comfortable doing anything with him until they talked about where things were going between them.

Hermione closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind, but all she could think about was how good it had felt to have Severus' hands on her. She wanted him, badly, but didn't know what to do about it. So she did the next best thing; she hugged him from behind and draped her leg on his and intertwined their fingers; "just don't go groping me again..." She said kissing the nape of his neck. "Goodnight Sev, sweet dreams..." She felt him squeeze back her hand and she kissed him again; "goodnight luv, pleasant dreams.." He said kissing her knuckles and holding her closer.

 

The alarm on her phone woke her up from a deep, peaceful sleep, beeping loudly throughout the quiet hotel room. She opened her eyes and groaned, then reached a hand back to turn it off. She kept hitting the bed and not the nightstand where her phone was, and couldn't understand why. She began to turn around and realized that she was still cuddled up against Severus' back. She turned all the way over and found that she was clear across the bed on his side. It was such a huge bed that it took her a few seconds before she reached the alarm and turned it off. She sat up slowly and stretched her hands over her head. It was 8:00 AM, but she still felt tired and more than a little happy at waking up spooning with Severus after she had gotten mad at him for doing essentially the same thing.

She turned her head towards him and saw that he was watching her with a small smile on his face. He still looked tired and sleep tousled; which was something that she like to see with him. He was usually impeccably dressed and alert in his surroundings. She stood up and faced him, then gave him a closed mouth smile, "Morning."

He put an arm under his head and nodded, "Good morning, how did you sleep, sweetheart?"

She immediately blushed, and heard him chuckle softly, "Mia, I am sorry for doing what I did, but you have to know that I thought it was a dream."

She nodded, "I'm not going to hold it against you, Sev...Well, as long as you don't hold against me for kissing you and cuddling up to you this morning." She smiled good-naturedly, then watched as he did the same. "You know I won't hold it against you even though you and I both know we love to cuddle..." She walked around the bed and to her suitcase to gather some clothes to put on after her shower; she wouldn't put her dress on until she needed to.

She looked at him momentarily, and he gestured with his hand for her to come towards him. She approached him warily as he patted the bed next to his hip. "Sev, I need to-"

He cut her off, "Mione, just sit down for a moment. This won't take long."

She sat down against his hip and saw that his black undershirt had ridden up a little, showing some short dark hairs running from his belly button, so she pulled it down then looked at him, "What?"

He reached forward and ran his hand down her arm softly, then said quietly, "I think we have some things we need to discuss. Not here, but when we arrive home; I'm positive that things can't continue as they have."

Was he saying what it sounded like? She swallowed noisily and nodded, "I agree, I've wanted to talk to you for a long time now."

He rose his eyebrows in surprise as she stood up and began walking towards the bathroom, "I'm going to take a shower, you might want to start getting ready." Then closed the door behind her; not waiting for a response. She was afraid the look on his face would be rejection, so she didn't dare look at him; she didn't think she could handle it.

After getting out of the shower and dressing in a pair of yoga pants and a button-up shirt, she began to get ready for the wedding. Just as she finished with her makeup, there was a knock on the door, "Mia, I need to shave, can I come in?"

"Yeah, it's fine."

He walked in carrying a black bag, wearing black dress pants with a white undershirt tucked in; she had to physically remind herself not to stare. He walked over to the other sink and began pulling items out that he needed to shave with. She kept catching herself staring at him, and met his eyes more than once in the mirror. He didn't seem to mind her watching him, so she didn't attempt to hide her curiosity any longer as he began shaving with a blade, and not one of those disposable razors that men usually used. "I've never seen you shave with a blade before when you're sleeping at my home..." She said quietly "well, it's because I sleep spontaneously there, so I just use what you have in your cupboard... Oh and thank you for the new one you bought me, it feels wonderful with the doubled blade and aloe..." He said as he watched her in the mirror and smiled at her, she smiled back and went closer hugging him "always..."

He ran the blade over his cheek, then put it in the sink to rinse it off and looked at her, "Mia, we need to leave soon. I suggest you finish getting ready."

She winced, a little embarrassed that she was getting clingy, and turned away to concentrate on herself. He was right, she didn't have time to watch him shave; as fascinating as it was.

She didn't look at him again as he finished up and walked over to her. He put a hand on her back, then leaned down and put his lips on her ear, "Don't be mistaken, Mia, I enjoy you watching me, it's incredibly alluring." Then he turned and walked out shouting back "we'll have more time back in Hogwarts I promise..."

She took a steadying breath, feeling heady from his proximity, then turned to finish getting ready. She didn't have time to ruminate on the feelings he elicited from her.

 

She finished up in the bathroom, then walked into the bedroom to see him lounging on the couch with his favorite book in his hands. He had a white dress shirt on, with black suspenders and a forest green tie; the color of her dress. How he had known what color to wear, she could only guess, but was glad that they were going to match. He glanced up and said, "It's 9:45, do you need me to help you with your dress?"

She had planned on asking Jen, but Severus would be a better option. She nodded, "Yes, if you don't mind."

He tossed the book on the couch and stood up, then approached her as she walked over to the closet and pulled the dress out of its bag. She held it up to admire it for a moment. It was forest green...almost like Slytherin green, with one silver beaded strap that went over her shoulder. It was floor-length, with a small train in the back and a slit up to her mid-thigh. She loved the intricate silver bead work that ran from the strap down to her waist. It really brought out the design of the dress, and she couldn't wait to wear it because she felt beautiful in it; not many dresses accomplished that.

With her back to Severus, she slipped off her pants and shirt, then pulled the dress up over her breasts and held an arm across them as she walked back over him. The look on his face was neutral, but she'd caught something else before his mask had slid over his face. She turned her back to him and said over her shoulder, "Will you zip me up, please?"

She felt his hands ghost down her back to where the zipper started below her tailbone. He slowly began zipping it up, running his fingers up her back ahead of the zipper. The zipper ended just below her shoulder blades, so when he finished, he stepped close to her and kissed one shoulder softly, then said in a quiet voice, "This dress looks stunning on you from behind, I can only imagine how it'll look from the front." She could feel the warmth of his body radiating into her back as he continued to stand close.

She took a step forward then turned around and watched him take in her appearance. He shook his head, his eyes betraying his desire as he said, "Wow, absolutely beautiful. That color is perfect on you, Mia."

She smiled, "Thank you, but we don't have time to keep staring at each other, it's probably past 10:00 now." He glanced at his watch and took a step closer, a predatory gleam in his eyes, then said in a low voice, "We have a few minutes."

She held her hands up to halt his advance and sat on the bed to slip her silver beaded sandals on, then stood up and put her necklace and bracelet on. He had stood there and watched her finish getting ready with a neutral expression, but she could see something else in his expression that she couldn't quite identify.

She quickly glanced at herself in the mirror, and loved what she saw; that hardly ever happened to her.

Hermione turned to him and said, "Are you ready to go?"

He nodded and picked up his suit jacket from the bed and slipped it on. She walked over and fixed the silk ice-blue handkerchief in his suit pocket, then smiled at him, "You look handsome yourself, Sev."

He looked very handsome in his sharp suit, with his hair cascading over his features,and that green tie matched well with his dark brown almost onyx eyes.

He nodded and held his arm out for her to take. She took it, and he led her out of their room and towards the garden where the wedding would be held.

For the next thirty minutes, the wedding planner explained to Hermione and the other bridesmaids what they needed to do and where they needed to stand. It was pretty straight forward, as Hermione had been to a lot of weddings, so she wasn't worried.

Severus was sitting at one of the tables in the reception area with a drink in one hand and his legs crossed; the picture of calm and collected. The planner told Hermione to be back in fifteen mintues, so she made her way over to Severus and smiled, "Isn't it a little early to be drinking?"

He smirked and finished the last of his drink, "It's a wedding, Mia, what else is there to do?"

She huffed a laugh and sat down in the chair next to him, not noticing that her thigh nearest to him was peeking through the slit in her dress. Before she could say anything else, she felt his hand on her upper thigh. She looked at him with narrowed eyes and opened her mouth to tell him to move it, but he spoke up before she could, leaning close and squeezing her leg, "Oh Mione, such a tease aren't we? That slit in your dress is going to be the death of me."

She looked down and watched as he ran his hand slowly down her thigh. It felt like every nerve in her body was alive and begging her to do something about all the unresolved sexual tension coursing through her body.

"Who's the one being the tease? If you keep on touching me like that, maybe you'll learn something about me that you never thought you'd find out."

He smiled fully, a teasing glint in his eye, "Is that a promise?"

She put her hand over his that was still on her leg, and squeezed it, "Could be."

Their faces were close, and all she could focus on were the odd color of his eyes; it was very deep and dark shade of brown, from afar it looks almost black, when he was frustrated or angered it was indeed, black.

Just as he leaned forward to kiss her, the wedding planner interrupted them in a frantic voice, "Hermione, it's time to get in place. Hurry, hurry, we don't want to hold up the wedding." Then she turned away and left them alone again.

They didn't move, their faces inches apart, as Hermione smiled at him and said quietly, "I guess I better go."

He ran his hand back up her thigh, this time with hers on top of his, then stopped at the top and said quietly, "I guess you should."

She was reluctant to move, but could hear the wedding planner hustling the other girls to their spots, and knew she would be next. She leaned forward and kissed his jaw softly, then said close to his ear, "You might want to make your way over too." She stood up and walked away before she did something else that they weren't ready for. She felt off-balance and aroused, and was amazed at how Severus Snape could elicit that kind of response from her just by touching her leg.


	8. For Sentimental Reasons

Hermione walked into the hotel and over to the room where everyone was supposed to wait for the start of the wedding. She waved at a couple of the bridesmaids that were standing off to the side, then walked over to Jen, who was standing in the corner by herself in her wedding dress. Hermione could tell that she was nervous and tense; she put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

"Hey, are you ready?"

Jen turned her head and looked at Hermione with fear in her eyes and said quietly, "I don't know, Mione. I don't think I can go through with this. What if we get married, then I hate him in two years? At least if we weren't married we wouldn't have to hire lawyers and get a divorce."

Hermione gave her a small smile and shook her head, "Jen, calm down; you've been looking forward to this day for a long time. Just remember why you agreed to marry him in the first place. You love him right?" At Jen's nod, Hermione continued, "So don't think about anything else besides him and how much you love him; nothing else matters."

Jen sucked in a deep breath, then blew it out slowly and smiled, "You're right. I don't know why I'm second guessing everything. He makes me happy, and like you said last night about Sev, that's what matters the most."

Hermione thought about what she just said; she was right, it was about time she finally told him, or at least give him an incline that she is still indeed with him all the way through. He makes her happy, dead happy if she was being honest with herself. He makes her feel good, he makes her feel safe, loved and cared for, and that's what matters most right?  
Hermione smiled and squeezed her shoulder once more, then pulled her arm back and said, "You can call him Severus by the way; he's not a big fan of Sev."

Jen nodded, "Speaking of getting married, have you two set a date?"

"Oh, um..we just got engaged, we haven't had much time to discuss it." Hermione hoped she sounded convincing.

"Well my advice is don't wait too long. You never know when something might happen, so enjoy life and get married."

Hermione nodded, "You're right, we need to sit down and talk about it; I'd rather not wait anyway." In her mind, all she could think about was the fact that Severus could just disappear one day without a trace, or turn up dead. It was painful to even think about, let alone if it actually happened. She was way too attached to him, and that scared her more than anything.

She needed to change the subject..quickly. "So what are we waiting for? It has to be past eleven."

Jen shrugged and opened her mouth to say something, when the wedding planner ran in, looking frazzled and half-mad, while waving her arms. "Places people, places. All of the guests have arrived and are waiting for the ceremony to start. Bridesmaids, you're going to be escorted by a groomsman, so please find the person you were assigned to and get in line. Does anyone have any questions?"

No one said anything, so she nodded and waved the first group to go through the door that led outside. Hermione took the elbow of the groomsman she was assigned to, a nice-looking young man who didn't look to be over twenty, and walked outside when it was their turn. As they walked towards the "Aisle", Hermione admired her surroundings. The weather was perfect; not even a small breeze could be felt, and the sun was shining brightly with little wisps of clouds floating lazily across the blue sky. The gardens were in full bloom, with blues, reds, greens, and yellows popping up everywhere.

As they approached the wedding area, she saw that the chairs were filled up with all kinds of different people from all walks of life. Hermione placed on a smile as they walked down the aisle, smiling at random strangers and people that she knew. She received more than a few looks from men that made her decidedly uncomfortable, and was extremely glad that she brought Severus to help fight off their advances. They made it to the end of the aisle, and Hermione let go of her escort's elbow then took her place to the right of the groom, who looked to be terrified himself. She hadn't been able to find Severus while walking, and wondered if he had decided to skip out on the actual ceremony; she wouldn't blame him really. She looked to her right, then smiled when she finally spotted him sitting a few rows back on the end with his legs crossed and his stone mask ad signature scowl in place, but that changed when he saw her. There was a small smile on his face, and she moved her fingers that were at her side in a little wave. He nodded at her, then made a show of raking his eyes over her body; starting at her feet and ending on her face. He rose his eyebrows suggestively, which caused her to blush, then gave her a closed mouth smile and mouthed, "Later", as the music started playing and the bride began walking down the aisle escorted by her dad.

Hermione spent the rest of the ceremony doing her best to avoid looking in Severus' direction, but every so often she glanced at him from the corner of her eye; she noticed that he didn't ever look away from her. She was so focused on him, that she didn't remember anything about the vows or the ring exchange, so when she heard, "I know pronounce you husband and wife", she quickly turned her attention back to the happy couple. Hermione smiled, happy for her friend, but mad at herself for not paying attention to Jen's important moment.

She followed Jen and Joe as they made their way over to the area where the guests would greet them, holding her train and her flowers. As they reached the area, Jen turned to Hermione with a smile, "Thanks so much for your help, and thank you for coming; it means a lot to me." Hermione smiled, "I'm glad I could come too." She pulled her into a quick hug, then they moved into a line as the guests began making their way over to the couple.

For the next thirty minutes, she greeted everyone with a smile and a handshake, wondering what Severus was up to. She craned her neck to look down the line and saw him standing there with his hands in his pockets chatting with a bronzed-skinned woman with dark hair. The woman kept leaning in his space while touching his arm; and the green-eyed monster rose up in Hermione like a tidal wave. Technically she didn't have any claim to Severus, but since they were here and supposedly "Engaged", she felt like she could be possessive. She knew he would tease her about it, but at the moment all she could think about was getting that woman away from him.

As Hermione got closer to where they were, she could hear little snippets of their conversation. Severus eyed her and walked away, but the woman followed. The woman asked what he was planning on doing after the reception right as they reached Hermione halfway. HerMione grabbed his hand and pulled him into a hug, saying loud enough so the woman could hear, "Honey, thanks for coming to the wedding with me. I know you didn't want to come." She ran her fingers over his long tresses and down to his neck, then scratched his nape with her fingernails lightly. She turned her head and kissed his cheek, as he whispered in her ear, "Are you jealous, Mia?" He huffed a laugh in her ear, his warm breath giving her goosebumps, "I didn't think you had it in you, but this is helping our cover tremendously; well done."

She pulled back from him slightly with an entirely fake smile on her face, then kissed him softly; their mouths opening to taste each other while he ran his hands down her sides and stopped at her waist. She heard someone clear her throat after a minute, and pulled away from him with a genuine smile.

Hermione smoothed his lapels down, then glanced at the woman for the first time. She looked a little surprised, but mostly upset that she wouldn't be going anywhere with Severus after the reception. Hermione rose her eyebrows at her in question, and the woman shook her head in disgust, then walked away without another word to Severus.

"My... I love the way you get so possessive of me Mia..." He said teasing and hugged her to his side "this old beaten heart is yours to keep if you want to..." He said kissing her temple. She sighed and kissed his cheek a couple of times "don't go flaunting with them now... I don't think I like sharing... Especially you..." And with that Severus chuckled at her and kissed her temple repeatedly "I wouldn't dream of going out with these charlatans, none of them will ever be as beautiful, as ravishing, and as wonderful as you are, they are nothing but pale imitations of a real woman..." He said kissing her temple, which made her smile.

Severus squeezed her sides lightly, then leaned back towards her ear and said in a low voice, "I'll see you soon. Don't have too much fun without me." Before leaving he gave her another kiss, his lips warm and soft, then turned to Jen and congratulated her and continued down the line without looking back at Hermione. She tried to pretend that she wasn't affected by his kiss, but if anyone had paid close attention to her, they would have been able to tell that she was most definitely not at the top of her game.

After all the guests were greeted and on their way to the reception area, the wedding party took pictures for the next twenty minutes. Hermione enjoyed it, but was ready to be done so she could find Severus. They stood and waited for the photographer to finish up, then Jen turned to all of them and said, "We're finished taking pictures, so if you would, please make your way over to the reception and enjoy the rest of your time. Thanks for all of your help, I love you all."

Hermione walked over and gave her another quick hug, then turned and made her way over to the reception. She found Severus quickly, and sat down in the chair next to him with a small smile. He moved his chair closer to her, then put his hand on her arm and trailed it down to her hand and laced their fingers together. She moved closer to him, then said, "So what have you been up to?"

He bit the corner of his lip, "Oh nothing really, mostly fending off the advances of more women. Honestly, they just won't leave me alone."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Right. I'm sure they're just throwing themselves at you. Is that what that woman in the line did too?'

He huffed a small laugh, "Your lips are so soft, Mia, I must know how you make them that way."

She smiled and leaned close to him, then said in a teasing voice, "I could tell you, but I could also put some on my own lips and have you kiss it off."

 

He looked at her with narrowed eyes, then cupped her jaw with his hand and pulled her down to kiss him. Just as their lips touched, the crowd around them began to applaud. Hermione sighed and pulled away reluctantly, then turned to see that Jen and Joe were walking up to the head table. She untangled their hands and stood up to clap with the rest of the group as the couple sat down to eat something before continuing with other events.

She sat back down next to Severus and groaned, "My feet are killing me. I thought these would be comfortable, but they aren't."

"I'd gladly give you a body rub later." His tone was entirely too suggestive.

She turned to him with a surprised expression, then saw the teasing glint in his eye, and slapped him lightly on the chest, "You're so funny. What if I had actually said yes?"

He pursed his lips and tilted his head, "Then I would gladly do it. I don't say things just to say them, Mia."

She rose her eyebrows in disbelief and said sarcastically, "Since when?"

He laughed quietly, "Are you hungry? I can go get something for you since your feet hurt."

She nodded, "Yes, I'm starving. I would really appreciate it; plus it would "Help with our cover", as you say." He nodded and patted her leg, using it for leverage to help him stand up, then kissed her cheek before walking towards the buffet.

Hermione relaxed further in her chair, then reached her hand forward and picked up Severus' champagne glass and took a long drink. Just as she set it back down, she felt a presence behind her and quickly sat up and turned her head. It was one of the groomsmen. He smiled and said, "Hi, I'm Steven." Then glanced behind him nervously and back to her, "So um...will you dance with me?"

Hermione looked past him and saw that people were beginning to dance, then looked back up at him. He looked so pathetic, with his unruly brown hair and crooked bow-tie, that she was hard-pressed to find a reason to turn him down.

"Oh, um..sure. Just one though, I'm really hungry."

Steven grinned broadly, "Sure, thank you!" Then he grabbed her hand and pulled her up roughly, dragging her by her hand halfway across the lawn to the dancing area. The song that was playing was a slow one, much to Hermione's chagrin, so Steven put his hands on her waist and began moving clumsily to the music. She put her hands on his shoulders lightly and tried to keep their bodies far away. As they continued to dance, he repeatedly stepped on her toes, which made her wince and almost cry out several times. Steven seemed oblivious though, as he continually tried to pull her closer, and moved his hands even lower on her waist. He didn't try to talk to her, which she thought was odd, but was glad for it because she probably didn't have much in common with him anyway.

He moved his hands farther around her body, his fingers brushing her ass. She opened her mouth to tell him to move his hands, but Severus interrupted her in a low voice filled with contempt, "Excuse me, but your hands are nowhere near where they should be, especially since it's my fiance that you're fondling; I suggest you leave before something unpleasant happens." A look of fear came over Steven's face, and he quickly let go of Hermione and hurried off into the crowd without a word.

She heaved a relieved sigh, "Thank you. I was about to punch the guy."

Severus stepped closer and held out his hand, "Will you dance with me?"  
The melody was very soothing, and her heart raced as Severus sang along with the music  
She nodded and took his hand, then let him pull her close as they swayed to the music; their bodies and faces touching as they moved together as one.

*i love you, for sentimental reasons...  
I hope you do believe me, Ive given you my heart.  
I love you, and you alone are meant for me  
Please give your loving heart to me  
And say "we'll never ever part..."

I think of you every morning  
Dram of you every night  
Darling I'm never lonely   
Whenever you're in sight

All because I love you for sentimental reasons  
I hope you do believe me baby  
I've given you my heart.*

"Thank you for dancing with me Mia, this is one of my favorite songs..." He whispered into her ear. She leaned in closer and hugged him tight "always, Sevvie...always" 

They continued to sway with the rhythm as the music overtook their hearts, and they moved together as one.


	9. Reason To Believe

*if I listen long enough to you, I've found reason to believe that it's true*

Hermione sat next to Severus at their table and watched as the happy couple danced their first dance. They both had wide smiles on their faces, and Hermione could hear Jen laugh every so often as Joe spun her around playfully. Hermione felt a pang of loneliness, knowing that she most likely wouldn't get to experience something like this herself again in her lifetime; it was a bitter pill to swallow. She glanced away from her friend and began toying with the fake engagement ring on her finger, and found herself wishing, despite herself, that it was real; her growing feelings for Severus were confusing, but there was no denying that she was falling in love with him, and had been for quite some time.

Severus' hand covered hers as he leaned in and whispered close to her ear, "What's wrong, Mia?"

She stared straight ahead, willing the tears that were pooling in her eyes to go away, and shook her head. He squeezed her hand and moved even closer, "Mia, talk to me."

She heaved a sigh and pulled her hand back, then stood up and said over her shoulder, "I need some fresh air, I'll be back." She gave him a loving, tender and lingering kiss to the cheek, then walked away quickly, temporarily forgetting about how much her feet hurt. She quickly made her way out of the large canopy tent that the reception was being held in, and walked aimlessly across the grounds. She kept expecting to hear footsteps approach from behind her, but they never came; she was both disappointed and relieved.

Hermione walked through a grove of trees and ended up standing at the edge of a large pond. She stared across the slightly rippling surface and smiled when some swans landed and began lazily swimming around looking for something to eat. She spotted a bench to the side and made her way over to it, then sat down. She sat there for some time, thinking about nothing and everything. She knew there wasn't anything she could realistically do about Severus, but she liked to imagine herself declaring her love for him and him sweeping her up in his arms and taking her to his bed; it was a nice fantasy, but that's all it was. She knows that he loves her; do he'd told her he's in love. She had asked him to be patiently, and he is...very much indeed. It was a little unfair, she thinks because she only told him "I might be falling in love with you..."; there was no conclusion to whether she was in love with him or not. She didn't want to string him along, but she also couldn't let him go. She loved him, that was that, and sooner or later, she has to tell him.

One of the swans swam close to her and looked at her for a moment before dipping its beak into the water and coming up with a bug in its mouth. The wind began to pick up and she was feeling decidedly cold; but she didn't know if the cold was coming from her heart, or if it was actually the wind. She shivered and ran her hands up and down her arms, trying to warm herself up; it was probably time to go back anyway.

Just as she began to sit up, a warm jacket slid over her shoulders, then his voice washed over her like a cleansing rain, "Mia, I've been searching for you everywhere; I was about to call search and rescue... ." He sat down next to her, close but not too close.

She looked at him with eyebrows raised in surprise, "What were you to do? Call the Aurors?"

He smiled and put his arm across the back of the bench, but avoided touching her as he said, "I don't do quite well with losing the people I love... I'd do anything for them..."

She "hmmd", but didn't say anything more as they sat in a loaded silence. She pulled his suit jacket tightly around herself, inhaling the scent that was uniquely him. She looked at him from the corner of her eye and saw that he was staring out at the water with a faraway expression on his face; she would kill to hear what he was thinking.

She moved her body a little closer to him and sat back against his arm that was still across the top, then let out a sigh. She wished things could stay as they were right at this moment; no confusing relationship, no talking, just being with each other. He moved his arm around her shoulders and pulled her tightly against him, then said quietly, "Mia, as much as I'd like to admit when people say that I love reading other people's mind, I'm not really fond of reading others' thoughts unless it's vital... What's bothering you?"

She leaned her head against his shoulder and stayed silent; she didn't know how to even begin to tell him what was troubling her. He moved the hand that was around her shoulders to her hair and began toying with it. She could feel his warm breath on the top of her head as he put his face in her hair and breathed her in, then eventually said, "I'm not going to beg you to tell me, so I'm not going to bring it up again until you're ready to talk. Does that sound agreeable?"

She nodded against his shoulder and said, "Yes, thank you. I don't know how to even begin to talk about it when it's so jumbled up in my head, so let me think on it overnight, then I'll try to explain tomorrow."

He pulled his arm back from her shoulders then stood up and held his hand out for her to take. She didn't want to go back, but she needed to quit being selfish; this was Jen's day after all. She took it and let him lead her back towards the reception. As they walked in a comfortable silence with their fingers laced together she said, "What time is it, Sev?"

He brought his arm up and looked at his watch, "It's almost three. What time is the reception supposed to end?"

She grimaced, "It's supposed to end at three, I hope they haven't left yet."

He picked up his pace and they reached the canopy just in time to see Jen and Joe walk out hand in hand with big smiles on their faces. Hermione let go of Severus' hand, then slipped his jacket off and handed it back to him before approaching the couple.

"Hermione where did you go? I've been looking for you." Hermione reached her, then hugged her tightly.

"I wasn't feeling well, but I'm ok now. I'm just happy I made it back before you left."

Jen smiled, "Me too." Before Hermione could reply, the crowd began moving towards the parking lot where Jen and Joe's car was waiting. Jen smiled and shrugged, then took Joe's hand and walked with the rest of the crowd towards the car. Hermione and Severus followed behind slowly, then watched as flower petals were thrown at them as they ran the last few steps towards the open door. Hermione laughed softly as Joe scooped Jen up bridal-style, then kissed her soundly before dropping her to her feet and helping her inside. The crowd cheered and whooped as the car began to pull away, and Hermione couldn't keep the smile off of her face. She was a sucker for happy endings; maybe it was because she rarely saw it in her personal life...so far it had always been failed romances...

She looked at Severus, standing there with his hands in his pockets, and saw that he had that faraway look on his face again. She nudged him with her elbow, "Sickle for your thoughts?"

He worked his jaw for a moment, his eyes hard and serious, then said quietly, "Are you hungry? I'm starving."

She sighed internally at his subject change, but let it go since he had lent her the same courtesy earlier. She shook her head in amusement, "How could you be hungry? You ate non-stop at the reception."

He pursed his lips, "Well, what else is there to do but eat and drink? I can always eat, Mia."

She stepped closer to him and ran her fingers over his chest lightly, then said in a teasing voice, "There's a hot tub in our room. We could always test that out."

He visibly swallowed, then said in a suggestive voice, "I think that sounds divine. My knees have been aching all day." She hadn't expected him to agree, and regretted making the suggestion immediately. Severus in nothing but shorts, all wet and glistening, was the last thing her already confused mind needed.

She smiled and shook her head, "Nah, I was kidding, let's go eat instead. I didn't get a chance to eat much."

He grabbed her hand, then said as they began walking back towards the hotel, "It's too late to change your mind, sorry." He didn't sound sorry at all.

She tried to think of an excuse to get out of it the entire way back to their room, then finally thought of one in the elevator, "Sev, I don't have my suit, so I'm not going to be able to join you. I think I'll take a nap instead."

He huffed a laugh and crowded into her personal space, their bodies inches apart as he said, "What's the matter, Mione, are you afraid of me?"

She shook her head and forced a laugh, "Of course not, I'm just...tired."

"Right. Well you can wear your...underthings, because I certainly won't object and no one else will be around to see. I do hope you decide to join me, but if you don't, then that's your prerogative."

The elevator opened and he turned and walked out without waiting for her. She caught up to him as he opened the door, then let her go in front of him. She made her way inside the room, then walked over to her suitcase and found some clothes that she could sleep in. Severus passed by her and walked out to the private deck where the hot tub was at. She heard it turn on, then he walked back inside and said, "Do you need help with the zipper on your dress?" He had his emotionless mask on, and she hated that she was the reason that it was there.

She nodded and turned around. He stepped closer and quickly unzipped her dress, then moved away again. Unlike last time, there were no lingering touches or kisses; he was obviously upset.

She carried her clothes in the bathroom in one hand while keeping the other arm across the top of the dress to keep it up, then closed the door behind her and leaned against it.

She took a deep breath, then after a moment she stepped forward and changed quickly into some new underwear, soft cotton pants, and a lime-green tank top. She listened for movement on the other side of the door, but it was silent. She opened the door and walked out, then looked around for him; he wasn't there. She made her way over to the closet and hung her dress up next to Severus' recently hung suit. She ran her fingers over the still warm material of his suit coat, and sighed. She wished she could just be open with him, but she couldn't predict how he would react, and that thought was terrifying.

She knew she was being stupid. He is her best friend for heavens sake! He's a man who had saved her countless times, taught her everything she didn't know about potions, the man who rescued her from her post break-up depression, he is her touchstone. True enough she is open with him, but not regarding to her feelings for him, which she thought was a little unfair to him; because he was and is never hesitant to tell her of his feelings for her, why can't she just do the same? Why does she have to be so cowardly? Why can't her brain just process the thought that she love him, why can't she just let heart heart win over again?

She knew Severus was not the kind of person to bear his heart to someone, after Lily... It's like he never gave his chance to love again, and it's like this time... He's... He's letting his heart heal, he's letting himself love again, he's giving himself another chance, she can't screw up, she just can't... It'll hurt him... Hurt him more, and Merlin knows he's been hurting all his life... It's about high time that changed...

She walked over over to the bed and laid down and stretched her limbs out. It felt good, and the cool sheets were soothing. She turned over and hugged a stray pillow to her body, and immediately recognized the smell of Severus' aftershave on it. It was his pillow, but she found that she didn't want to find another one; he smelt like home, and it was comforting.

She closed her eyes and tried to relax, but all she could think about was the fleeting look of disappointment that had been in his eyes when she told him no. She pushed that thought away, but it was replaced by the sound of Severus moving around in the hot tub outside. That led to other thoughts that she would rather not have with him sitting thirty feet away from her. She turned on her back and stared at the ceiling; suddenly wide awake.

"Screw it", she thought. She slid out of the bed and quickly took off her pants and tank top, leaving her in her lacy black bra and panties. She walked determinedly to the sliding glass door of the deck and opened it, then peeked her head out and saw Severus sitting in the hot tub with his eyes closed, on and his head leaned back against one of the head rests, a book was left hanging on one side of the tub. He appeared to not have heard her, so she stepped out and closed the door silently behind her and approached the stairs leading to the tub.

She walked slowly up the steps and stood on the edge, waiting for him to acknowledge her. When he didn't, she sat down on the edge and stuck her legs in. The swirling, hot water already helped her feel better, so she slid all the way in and audibly sighed. Severus seemed to finally hear her and lifted his head, then smiled at her mischievously, "Mione, so nice of you to join me, the water helps the aching muscles tremendously. I feel better than I have in months."

She gave him a smile and nodded, "Well...good." She didn't know what else to say, and he wasn't offering up any conversation topics.

He huffed a quiet laugh then said, "Why are you all the way over there?"

She shrugged, not sure if she wanted to play with the fire that was Severus Snape, but found that she didn't care anymore if she was confused; she knew that she wanted him and that had to be enough. He loved her; that was factual, "he loves you..." Her brain whispered "you love him..." Her heart reciprocated.She realized then that she was the one that was going to dictate what happened next in their relationship. He wasn't going to force himself where he wasn't wanted, and he most likely didn't realize how deep her feelings for him ran.

She moved over and sat next to him, their bodies touching, not an inch apart. He reached up and took a sip from the glass of scotch that he was nursing, he accioed another glass and filled it with Red Wine and handed it to Hermione. His arms were spread out along the back on either side of him, and she stared at his bare biceps, fascinated by the muscles that were clearly there. As she continued to study them, he moved the arm that was behind her to her back, then began rubbing small circles over her shoulder blades. After a few moments, he moved his hand up and lightly pulled at her bra strap, "Black huh? I guess it's better than white."

She opened her mouth to protest, but saw the teasing glint in his eyes and smiled, "Yeah, white wouldn't be very appropriate in a hot tub."

He smirked and tugged at the strap again, "Oh, I don't know about that; I certainly wouldn't object."

Severus moved the strap over slightly and continued massaging her shoulders. She rolled her head back and forth, thoroughly enjoying his able hands on her bare skin. He continued to inch the straps further and further down her shoulders until they were around her biceps; and she found that she didn't care. He moved closer, then pulled her body shoulder to thigh with his, as his hand began to roam farther south. She decided to take a chance, she was tired of being cautious and waiting for him to make his move. Hermione moved her leg over his lap and straddled him, then brought her lips within inches of his. He rose in eyebrows in surprise, but quickly recovered and held her in place with his hands on the underside of her thighs near her behind. "Mia-" He said in a low voice.

She shut him up as she leaned forward and kissed his jaw, while slowly rocking her hips. He groaned and tightened his hands on her thighs, but did nothing else as she began to lazily place hot open-mouth kisses on his neck and jaw while occasionally scraping her teeth over his skin. She could feel his growing arousal, but chose to pretend that she didn't notice.

He moved his hands to the top of her thighs, then ran them over her panties and up her torso. Her abs clenched at the contact, but she continued to move her mouth closer and closer to his own. He reached around to her back and unhooked her bra, then tried to pull it off, but she didn't allow him to as she moved her arms around his neck and finally found his lips. Their lips moved together passionately as he continued to let his hands wander where no one besides Ron had touched her in months. He slid his tongue in her mouth and moved it with hers, then pulled back and nipped at her lip, then went back to exploring every inch of her mouth. They continued that way until she started to feel a little overheated, then pulled back and rested her forehead against his; their breaths mingling in the steamy air. She felt her bra straps floating behind her, but didn't bother to cover herself back up. She knew that if he looked down he would get an eyeful, but she was beyond caring at this point. He moved his fingers under the waistband of her underwear, but she reached down and stopped his downward progress.

"Sev" she said breathlessly "we need to talk..."


	10. Complicated Heart

His hands trailed down to her thighs as she sat up a little further in his lap and looked at him with an apologetic expression.

"Mione, I'm failing to see the problem here."

She heaved a sigh and tried to slide off of him, but his hands held her legs firmly. "Sev, I..I'm..oh hell", she leaned in and put her head on his shoulder. She didn't know how to begin the conversation that could potentially ruin everything. He squeezed her thighs lightly once more, then reached around her and hooked her bra straps back together; he kept his arms around her back and pulled her tightly against him. She sniffed, but still didn't say anything. She felt defeated.

After a few moments, she opened her mouth to say something when they both heard loud knocking coming from their hotel room door. She mumbled against his neck, "What the hell?"

Severus shrugged and began running his fingers up and down her bare back lightly, "Just ignore it, they'll go away."

The knocking continued for a few minutes, and when they didn't answer they heard a voice that caused both of them to groan at the same time; it was Jen's crazy Uncle Jay. They heard his voice as it carried clearly through the hotel door, the room, and the sliding glass door, "I know you guys are in there. We're all going out ta have dinner ta celebrate the weddin' and want you ta come. You're like family, Hermione..."

She sat up reluctantly and rolled her eyes, "Is he serious?"

Severus huffed a quiet laugh, "Sounds like it. You better go answer before he knocks the door down and finds us in this entirely compromising position." He smiled lasciviously at her, but she could see trepidation in his eyes; probably stemming from her hesitance to talk to him about what was bothering her.

She leaned down and kissed him, putting into her kiss what she couldn't or wouldn't say with words. The knocking persisted though, so she pulled back and slid from his lap without looking him in the eye. As she got out and started to descend the stairs, she turned back to him, "Are you coming?"

He grimaced, "I'll be there momentarily." The look he was giving her clearly conveyed the reason he couldn't follow her, and she couldn't hold back the blush that rose over her cheeks as she walked inside.

"Hermione, I'm about ta get the manager or somethin' ta let me in. I know y'all are in there."

She grabbed one of the hotel's white fluffy robes, wrapped it around herself and opened the door before Jay could make an even bigger ass of himself. She placed on a fake smile, "Hey Jay, I'm not feeling too well, go on ahead without us."

Jay gave her a wide grin, showing off his missing incisor as he said, "Nonsense, I insist you come, my wife is dying to talk with your fiancé. We need a chance ta interrogate him for ya too."

Hermione cringed internally at the thought of Jay having any kind of conversation with Severus; Severus would eat him alive. She shook her head, "Really Jay, we're not-"

Jay's voice took on a whining tone as he said, "Hermione, I've known ya since you were a wee bairn. We haven't seen ya for years, all I'm askin' for is one dinner to catch up."

She closed her eyes momentarily, then said in defeat, "Ok, ok, fine I'll let Severus know. Are we just eating in the restaurant downstairs?"

Jay smiled again and pulled her in a crushing hug, "Yes, downstairs in a half hour. I can't wait!" He let her go then turned and walked down the hall quickly. His suit pants were too large for him and hung down his ass comically. She knew that Jen was embarrassed about Jay, but he was family, and there wasn't anything to be done about it.

She closed the door slowly, then turned to see Severus pick up a towel from the table and bend over to dry off his dripping shorts; he was getting water all over the carpet. "Sev, you're getting everything wet. You need to take those shorts off."

He stopped while still bent over, and all she could see was the top of his head and the water on his back shining from the light coming from the sliding glass door. He slowly righted himself with a look on his face that she could only describe as comically surprised and devilish at the same time, "Are you suggesting I remove them now...in front of you?"

Hermione coughed involuntarily, angry at herself for walking right into that. She to a step closer and said sarcastically, "I don't know Sev, what do you think?"

He tilted his head, then while still looking at her, moved his hands to begin untying the drawstring of his shorts. He wasn't a shy person, and she knew he would do it if she didn't put a stop to it. She was frozen in place, torn between wanting to stop him and wanting to see if he would shed them right in front of her. He finished with the string, then put his hands on the waistband and began to tug them down slowly while still staring at her with an inscrutable expression; this moment seemed important to their relationship for a reason that Hermione couldn't quite pinpoint.

Just as the shorts traveled low enough to begin to show things that she didn't think she'd ever see of Severus' in her lifetime, the damn phone began to ring. It scared her so bad that she literally jumped up and down and let out a little scream. She had been so focused on what Severus had been doing that she'd been lost in her own little world. She put a hand to her racing heart and saw Severus smirk as he pulled his shorts back up and walked to his suitcase as if she'd confirmed something for him with his little test; she began to swear internally at whoever was on the other end of the phone.

Hermione walked over to it and answered with an annoyed, "Hello?"

"Hermione! I just wanted ta let ya know that we're all already down here waitin' on ya." Of course it was Jay. This was the second time in a matter of minutes that he effectively cock-blocked anything she and Severus might have done.

She took a calming breath and said through gritted teeth, "We'll be down there as soon as possible. Thanks for letting me know Jay." Then she hung up without giving him a chance to answer; she felt angry and more than a little cheated.

She turned to Severus as he finished up at his suitcase, "Jay wants us to go down and have dinner with his family, is that ok?" She avoided looking at him directly.

"I don't think we have much choice in the matter, Mia, the man effectively ordered us to come down. Like I told you before, I can always eat, so I don't have a problem with it." He didn't know Jay like she did.

"Ok, well they're ready for us, so go do what you need to do." He nodded, then as he passed her reached out and squeezed her shoulder lightly before disappearing into the bathroom and closing the door. She heaved a deep sigh and began to get ready herself. She knew that she had to have that conversation with Severus eventually, but it seemed like whatever higher power above refused to give her the chance. If she had to suffer through a meal with Jay just so she could talk with Severus, then she would do it.

Severus and Hermione walked in silence towards the elevator bank. She studied him out of the corner out her eye and admired how good he looked. He was dressed in his Slate Grey button down, which was he'd favorite, and a pair or black slacks, and his dragon-hide boots, he decided to leave the cravat and the waistcoat behind though. She was dressed in a knee-length dark purple dress with black heels and her hair in an elegant twist in the back. She had noticed Severus eying her appreciatively as they left the room, but she felt like they were on shaky ground and back to square one; losing all the closeness they'd gained on this trip.

As they rode down to the first floor in the elevator, Hermione stepped closer to him and took his arm. He looked at her and gave her a small smile, then moved his opposite hand over and patted her hand. They still hadn't spoken a word to each other since leaving the room.

They walked in the restaurant and stood at the entrance looking for Jay. Just as she began to turn to ask the host where the Iverson family was sitting, they heard Jay's loud voice reverberate through the quiet restaurant, "Hermione! Over here!" Hermione wanted to put her head in her hands in embarrassment, but instead forced herself to look around and spot the table full of people standing and waving their arms.

She heard Severus chuckle next to her, "Those people are absolutely ridiculous, but hilarious. This is going to be fun. More fun than when we meet with the Weasley's..." Severus said with a little air of amusement.

She shook her head and let him lead her towards the table. When they reached it, Jays' wife Becky, a short and overweight blond-haired woman, stood up and hugged Hermione tightly then stepped back and said, "Thank you so much for coming to eat with us. I was so excited when Jay told me that you asked if you could join us."

Hermione opened her mouth to correct her, but saw Severus shake his head infinitesimally beside her, so she shut her mouth and said, "Oh you know, it's just been so long, I thought we needed to catch up." She turned to Severus and said, "This is my fiance Severus Snape you can call him Severus... Sev, this is Becky; she's Jen's aunt. Becky stepped forward and pulled Severus in a tight hug as well, she saw him grimace, but he quickly masked it and said in a fake jovial tone, "It's nice to finally meet you." Becky stepped back and patted his cheeks, then turned to the table full of children and gestured to them, "These are our kids: Jack, Jon, Jim, Jesse, Jovee, and Jill." She leaned closer and said quietly, "We like "J" names obviously."

Severus nodded and said, "Well it's a pleasure to meet all of you."

Jay stepped forward and clapped Severus on the back, "I'm Jay, nice ta finally meet the man ta snag Hermione; we was beginnin' ta think she was destined to be alone after that guy she was last with... What was his name again? Weasel?"

Severus narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw; Hermione knew he was on the verge of saying something to defend her that wouldn't be easily forgiven. She reached over and ran her hand over his lower back and smiled at Jay, "It hasn't been that long since Ron, Jay."

Jay moved his hand in a dismissive wave, "Still, you need a man in your life." Severus visibly tensed beside her; it was kind of sweet that he felt like he needed to protect her.

She pulled Severus against her and squeezed his side to let him know that he needed to calm down. She felt him take a deep breath as Hermione said, "Well why don't we eat? I'm starving."

Jay nodded and shooed his wife back into the booth, then slid in after her. Hermione saw that there was barely enough room for her and Severus, but they would have to make it work. She slid in next to the youngest, Jovee, and smiled at her as Severus sat down next to Hermione; she could feel the tension rolling off him.

The waiter came over and took their drink orders, then said he would be back shortly. Jay smiled at Hermione from across the table, "So how long have you've been dating? I was surprised to hear you were engaged when I hadn't even heard you were dating anyone."

Severus sat back and put his arm around her waist as Hermione said, "Oh we've been friends for a few years, but only started dating a few months ago."

Becky whistled, "Wow, don't you think that's moving too fast?"

Hermione shook her head, "We were already good friends before we started dating." She turned and looked at him with loving eyes, "And I love him, isn't that what matters?"

Jay snorted, "Yeah well love don't matter after a few years. He's so much older than ya that ya-"

Hermione cut him off in anger, "No, don't go there." She finally felt the anger that Severus was still obviously feeling.

Becky smiled, "Well it's something you have to think about, honey. When he's seventy, you're only going to be in your late forties. Is that something-"

Hermione cut her off and stood up, "You know what? I think we're done here, I'm feeling too sick to eat. It was nice to see you guys again." She moved out of the way so Severus could stand up, then grabbed his shirt by fistfuls and pulled him towards her and kissed him passionately. She pulled away after a few seconds then grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the restaurant without another word. She could hear Becky and Jay yelling for them to come back, but she ignored them as she marched towards the elevators with Severus in tow. She jabbed the close button repeatedly, still in a huff, and when the doors opened she pulled him in and waited impatiently for the doors to close.

As soon as they closed, she pushed him against the wall, reminiscent of when he'd done that to her the day before. He raised a lazy eyebrow at her as she said close to his face, "You want to know what's been bothering me lately, and what I wanted to talk to you about in the hot tub?" He moved his arms and wrapped them around her lower back, pulling her body flush with his and nodded. Their lips were inches apart as she looked him in the eye and said, "I'm in love with you Severus Snape. I don't know when it happened, or how you wormed your way into my heart, but I choose you. I want to marry you, make love to you, travel the world with you, have children with you and be with only you. No more game playing, no more distance, and no more pushing each other away. Jen told me that life is too short to wait for things to happen, and I agree with her wholeheartedly; I'm tired of waiting.

She took a deep breath as he slowly reached over and pushed the stop button on the elevator, which seemed to take hours; she didn't dare look at him, scared that she'd just ruined everything.

He didn't say anything as she felt the elevator stop. She stood there and studied his vest, waiting for him to push her away and tell her that he didn't feel that way about her.

When he finally did speak, his voice was low and had a slight rasp to it, "Yes."

She furrowed her eyebrows and looked at him in confusion, "Yes, what?"

He gave her a small smile, "I believe you asked me to marry you, and I'm saying yes."


	11. Stick With You

*Nobody's gonna love me better, I must stick with you forever...*

Hermione looked up at him with wide eyes, surprise clearly written on her face. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to come up with something intelligent to say. Severus moved his hand up to cup her jaw softly and said, "But, I.."

She cut him off with an exasperated sigh and mumbled, "There's always a but." She tried to step away from him, but he wouldn't allow it as he tightened his arm around her lower back. "Sev, let me go, I've already embarrassed myself enough today."

He gave her a small smile, "You need to let me finish, beloved." He shook his head, "Always so impatient." If his intention was to piss her off even more, he was doing a good job of it.

He moved his thumb to caress her cheek as he said, "As I was saying. I don't want you to say all the things you said just because of what happened at dinner, and are trying to prove a point to Jay or anyone else."

She shook her head and leaned in close to his ear, "But I'm not, I've been thinking-"

This time he cut her off, pulling her back so he could look at her, "Mia, I can tell you're still upset. Why don't we sleep on it and see how you feel in the morning?"

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. He hadn't told her that he loved her back, or anything beyond what sounded like rejection; maybe he was just letting her down gently. *i thought you loved me?* her mind screamed but chose not to say it.

Hermione sighed and nodded, "Fine, if that's what you want." She tried to step back, and this time he allowed it. She moved over and pushed the resume button on the elevator and kept her back to him. She felt beyond humiliated and blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall. She didn't want him to see her crying over him; that's all he needed was more ammunition to use against her.

They rode the rest of the way in silence, and when the door opened she stepped out quickly and walked as fast as her heels would allow back to their room; she was glad she kept a key card in her clutch. She pulled the card out and unlocked the door then pushed it open and let it close behind her; he had his own key in his wallet.

She slipped her heels off quickly and went to her suitcase to grab some clothes to sleep in, then walked into the bathroom and shut the door before he had even entered the room. As she undressed, she finally let out the tears that had threatened to fall in the elevator. She felt completely devastated over his rejection, and didn't know where to go from here. She'd thought for a while now that they would eventually get together, but she always assumed it would be on her terms, not his. It hadn't ever occurred to her that he would be the one to turn her down. *so much for telling me that you're in love with me...* her mind grumbled 

She turned on the shower and then stepped inside to stand under the hot spray. She wanted to burn the rejection and shame out of her, so she turned it up as hot as she could tolerate, then just stood there and cried until she didn't have any tears left to cry. As she began to wash her hair, she heard the bathroom door open and close. The glass surrounding her was fogged up so she couldn't see if he had come in, but she didn't hear anything, and at this point she didn't really give a shit.

Hermione finished washing her hair and body, then turned the shower off and reached for her towel; it wasn't where she had hung it over the top, but she figured it must have fallen. She opened the door of the shower and saw Severus standing there holding the towel up with an unreadable expression on his face. She didn't bother to cover up her nakedness as she walked up to him and allowed him to wrap the towel around her. She held her arms up as he secured it in the back, and when he was finished he stepped back and studied her with his head slightly tilted and his lips pursed. She took in his appearance as he continued his perusal of her. He'd slipped a few buttons off his shirt, and rolled the sleeves of his dress shirt up to his elbows; he looked entirely too appealing for how upset she was supposed to be at him.

She cleared her throat, still feeling the thickness from the tears, then said, "So what, you're just going to stand there and stare at me? Hope I'll declare my love for you again so you can humiliate me all over? Is this a game to you?"

He took a step closer, his face still expressionless, then took another step until they were inches apart, "Is that what you think this is to me, Hermione? A game? Really, I thought you were supposed to be the brilliant profiler here. Or is Potter rubbing off on you?"

She shook her head and narrowed her eyes at him, but refused to react to his goading, "I don't know, maybe he is. What do you want, Severus? I'd like to get dressed and go to bed." She looked up at him with wide eyes, willing the tears that were already threatening again to stay back.

He reached out and ran his hand over her hip lightly, then grabbed and handful of the towel and pulled her to his chest. He didn't give her a chance to resist as he brought his other arm around and hugged her to him tightly. She felt him bury his face in her wet hair, then place a soft kiss on top of her head. She didn't move her arms to hug him, and just allowed him to do whatever he wanted; it hurt too much to do anything but endure it.

"Mia", he said softly as he moved his head down and kissed her temple, "You must understand that I wasn't rejecting you. Did I not say that I wanted to marry you? Why would I reject you when I'm in love with you?"

She involuntarily coughed at his declaration, she didn't know why she was so surprised that she was rendered speechless. When she didn't say anything, he put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her back so he could see her face. She looked surprised and skeptical. He reached up and ran his hand down her face softly, "Mia?"

She blinked, then stepped away and turned her back to him then looked over her shoulder and said, "I know you're just trying to let me down gently. You don't need to do that, Severus, I'm a big girl." She couldn't bring herself to believe him, no matter what he said.

He heaved an exasperated breath then walked up to her and slid his arms around her from behind. He hooked his chin on her shoulder then said close to her ear, "I wouldn't still be here if I didn't feel for you what you feel for me. Is the steam affecting your cognitive functions? Perhaps I should call a doctor?"

She laughed despite herself, but didn't say anything; she still doubted his sincerity. He stepped back and turned her around, but before she could gather her wits about her, he leaned down and kissed her with an urgency that belied the hands that were lazily moving down her still towel-clad back. He ran his tongue over her bottom lip, then when she opened her mouth for him, moved it inside and intertwined with hers. He began backing her up, but she was too distracted to care where he was going as she moved her tongue inside his mouth and moved her hands to his waist to pull his still tucked-in shirt out of his trousers. The quiet moans he was making in the back of his throat made it hard for her to concentrate on any one thing, but when her back finally made contact with a hard surface, she found she didn't care about anything besides what was happening at this moment; and judging by the way he was kissing her, things would work out eventually.

Hermione finally managed to pull his shirt out, then ran her hands under it and over his bare chest down to his muscled stomach, for his age, he looked just too damned good with his 6 pack, and broad chest. He moved his mouth from hers, and as she protested the loss of contact with a soft whimper, moved his lips down to trail kisses along her collarbone and then her neck as he mumbled quietly, "Mia, what you do to me", repeatedly. She pulled her hands out from under his shirt, then began to work at the buttons hastily, wanting to feel as much skin as possible. Just as she finished and ran her hands back up his chest, he reached behind her and pulled the ends of the towel apart until she felt a little rush of cold air hit her backside. He was pressed against her so tightly that the towel didn't drop as he brought his hands up to cup her face and moved his lips inches from hers. He stared at her intently as his warm breath moved over her swollen lips, then smiled and leaned forward to brush his lips over hers, and said emphatically, "I love you Hermione Granger. If you don't ever believe another word that comes out of my mouth, you can rest assured that that is the undeniable truth."

She nodded, feeling like he was finally telling her the truth, and said quietly, "I believe you." She found that she did believe him after witnessing the sincerity in his eyes and his heartfelt confession, and by his arousal that was poking her in the stomach.

He stepped back and let the towel fall, then grinned devilishly and raked his eyes over her body as he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the bedroom as quickly as possible.

They made love for the first time and it was better than Hermione could ever have imagined it. He was an attentive lover, and he made sure that she was satisfied before they moved on to his needs. They fell asleep in each others arms, then she woke up with his hands moving over her body, they made love again. After the second time around, they were so exhausted that they both slept through breakfast and check-out time, and were only awakened by the maid pounding on the door and saying in a heavily accented voice, "Housekeeping, are anyone in dere? I coming in if you do not answer."

Hermione groaned as she turned over, feeling sore and stiff. Severus' hand fell away from her body as she sat up and stretched, then said, "Yeah, we're in here. Don't come in."

She heard the squeaking of the maid's cart as it moved away, and she laid back down and covered her face with her arm. She had almost fallen back asleep, when a slightly calloused hand began moving over her stomach, then pulled her to his side. She moved her arm and blinked at him sleepily as he looked at her with something akin to worry in his eyes, "Are you feeling the same as you did yesterday, or are you having second-thoughts?"

She reached up and ran her fingers over the stubble on his cheek, "I told you that I wouldn't have second thoughts, because they weren't inspired by that idiot. He just helped me man-up so I could tell you; I guess that's one thing I can thank him for."

He quirked his mouth, "Mine haven't changed either, but I wasn't expecting them to anyway. If anything, they've grown stronger."

Severus reached over and toyed with the ring on her left finger for a moment before saying, "I want you to keep this."

She looked at him in surprise, "Sevvie, I'm sure it cost you a fortune, I can't possibly a-"

"Mia", he said in a warm voice, "Did you not wonder how I had a ring that fit you perfectly within an hour's notice?"

The thought had crossed her mind, but he was Severus Snape, so she chalked it up to that and forgot about it. He continued quietly, "I bought that ring last year after I realized my feelings for you had grown into something more. I had that with me, that Saturday morning I went to your house and told you I am in love with you, and I've kept that in my pocket ever since. I didn't think I would ever be afforded the opportunity to give it to you, but I'm glad I did; it's perfect for you."

She nodded and gave him a watery smile, "It really is." She didn't know what else to say. Was he asking her to marry him now or in the future? Or was he even asking her to marry him at all? Maybe he just wanted her to keep it safe until he was ready.

He pulled it off of her finger, then sat up and pulled her up with him. She pulled the sheet around her body as he looked at her and said, "So what I'm asking is, will you marry me? It may not be soon, or it may be right now... I'm willing to wait for however long a time span you're giving me to make-up your kind...but I'd like you to know that I'll be ready to have you as my wife, whenever, wherever..."

Truth be told she wasn't worried, Voldemort was gone, Severus had already been acquitted and he was a free man, respected by all... She knows their friends would be happy, entirely too happy for them... But maybe she wanted to wait, savor the moment... "I'd marry you anytime and anywhere my love... Name the place and the time and I'll be there..." She kissed him lovingly on the lips, then a chaste one on the tip of his beak nose.

He took her hand and squeezed it lightly, "I can't promise that we won't have arguments, I can't promise you flowers, chocolates and candies all the time, but I can promise you my heart, and my soul... And gifts on every occasion... " Severus said in a teasing time which made me smile. He picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles "I may not say my feelings aloud when others are present, but know, my petal that my love will never falter no matter what happens... All the love I have in me will be yours and I will forever be, your faithful, and loving partner...husband, and friend." She smiled so brightly that Severus thought that she had lit up the whole room; Hermione leaned forward and kissed him tenderly "I want you to put those in our vows..." She said with an air of laughter, "but remember my Raven, that I promise you the same... I am yours, body and soul...heart and mind. Only yours, always." And sealed her promise with one more kiss.

He was right, there wasn't any way that they could continue like normal after this weekend. She broke the kiss and took a deep breath then a slow smile spread over her face, "Yes."

He rose his eyebrows in question, "Yes, what?"

She took the ring from him and slid it back on her finger, "I believe you asked me to marry you, and I'm saying yes."

He huffed a laugh at her parroting his words from the elevator last night, then leaned over and kissed her softly. "Good, because neither of us were going to leave here until you accepted. Really, Mia, you made it far too easy on me. I expected to have to convince you more thoroughly since you were so dead set on believing that I felt sorry for you yesterday."

She rolled her eyes and said, "Just shut up and kiss me, Sevvie."

He grinned and did just that.


	12. 24 Story Love Affair

As Severus and Hermione left the hotel, and back to Heathrow where they got the car from. Severus insisted that he would drive back, as she already drove them to get there; Hermione didn't even put up a fight and just handed him the keys and back they went to reality. Severus couldn't help but notice that something was oddly...off, she was too quiet.

The moment they returned the car, they immediately went to the nearest apparition point to apparate back to Hogwarts. "Would you like to side apparate with me, Mia?" Severus asked hoping to get a reaction from her.

Hermione nodded and wrapped her arms around him, Severus kissed the top of her head and apparated them both back to Hogwarts.

A loud crack of apparItion echoed as they landed in front of the gates. She stepped closer to him and leaned her head on his chest, trying to hide her sudden urge to cry. He put an arm around her lower back and pulled her closer to him as he said near her ear, "What's wrong, Mia?"

She swallowed thickly and shook her head, afraid that she would cry if she tried to say something.

He took a deep breath, and stroked her hair lovingly; "Nothing has to change, Mia...nothing. I'll always be here for you... No matter what. No matter what happens, and what they say, I'll still always be here for you and loving you..."

They stood there with her leaning against him, practically glued to his chest until the Headmaster's carriage appeared to take them back to the castle. A soft pop of apparition echoed and Eli popped to view "welcome back, Master Headmaster Severus, and Little Miss, Eli and Taffy both both you'd be enjoying your vacation, he's?" Eli asked in a very hopeful tone that made Severus smile; "Yes we did Eli, thank you very much." The little elf bowed low and opened the carriage door for them, Severus helped Hermione settle inside before getting in himself.

Inside his mind Severus tried to figure out how would everyone be reacting, Weasley for sure would be furious but he couldn't care less. His Godson and Lucius would be very Happy for him, he's sure of it. Minerva would be if a little skeptical, but would accept, after all she is one of the said "matchmakers" here, Black would have a field day knowing that he was "right" all along in having to give out an inkling of how Severus really felt for Hermione...Potter, and Remus, would be alright...and the rest just simply didn't matter, right now, they were the only people in their lives who mattered everyone else could simply, kiss his pale arse...

His thoughts were cut off by her hand that began to run up his inner thigh and stop near his crotch. He leaned his head over and looked at her face to see her eyes closed, but a smirk on his face. "Mia." He said warningly, "Don't start something that you can't or won't finish." He caught her hand and laced it through his, removing it from temptation.

He heard her yawn as she sat up and rubbed her eyes with her free hand. He squeezed her hand and said, "Why don't you rest once we get back, hmm?"

She shook her head and looked out the window at the wispy clouds that they were passing through, "I couldn't sleep without you by me now..." Severus laughed a little.

"I've a bit to do when we get back..."

She studied him with narrowed eyes, and apparently saw something that he hadn't been hiding enough; "You don't want to tell them yet don't you?"

He cleared his throat and wrapped his arm around her shoulder; "where would the fun be if we told them, Mia?"

Hermione laughed and snuggled onto him; "one of them is going to figure it all out eventually you know...."

Severus kissed the top of head head and whispered; "till then they have to guess, won't they..."

Hermione slapped him playfully on the chest; "you evil, evil bat of the dungeons..." She said laughing.

"We're almost there..." Hermione said as she looked out the window, seeing the castle coming nearer "You're going to have to play your part good if you want to keep this game up..." She said with a smirk

Severus huffed a laugh as he pulled her away from the window, she tried to cheat him out of his kisses but he pulled her back to him and kissed her softly, but with an urgency that she completely understood; they might not get too many more chances to do this, if they were to play this game...He pulled away and brought her hand up, then moved his thumb over her ring, "What are you going to do with this?"

She scrunched her nose and looked at it as it sparkled in the moonlight that was streaming through the window near them, "Think anyone would notice if I kept it on?"

He quirked his mouth, "I imagine someone will, then you'll be asked questions that you aren't ready to answer."

"What if I told them I found it inside a jewelry box that Mum left for me...like a family heirloom" That was something that might work. No one knew what happened to her parents and where they were, so they wouldn't question her story.

He shrugged, "It might be worth a shot. If that's what you want to do, then go ahead. I'm certainly not going to stop you."

She looked at the ring again. He was right, what did she have to lose? She didn't want to take it off, and if making up a fake family heirloom story, then so be it.

She smiled and started pulling him towards the door, "Come on, let's go."

They walked through the halls hand in hand making idle conversation, as they turned towards a hall heading to Gryffindor tower, thru head a bark and Severus sighed but Hermione smiled brightly. Immediately the figure shifted and out came Sirius Black "back so early, luv?" He asked as he spun Hermione in a hug; "Headmaster" he said with a wink towards Severus; "Black" he said neutrally.

"There's a still a week left you know, you can see that the castle is still intact if you two wanted to go to the Bahamas, you could and we promise to keep everything in tip top shape..." He said with a wide smile which made Hermione laughed "I missed you too..." She said.

They continued talking and ended up going to the common room instead of the Tower. They were greeted by the rest of the staff. Minerva was glad to see that Severus looked rested and visibly happy, and Hermione was possibly...glowing. They sat and chatted for a while until Hermione yawned a little "excuse me" she said with a small tired but happy smile "Mione, I really do think you need to go home and sleep." Remus said in a kind voice as he winked towards where Severus sat.

She nodded and reached out to squeeze his hand. "I plan to," she said shortly.

A little while later, they started getting a move on and left one by one, Severus offered that he escort her back to her quarters. As they reach her door, the lioness portrait that was guarding her door purred happily when she saw them and granted them entrance.

She sat on the couch as Severus called for Eli. A small pop was heard and suddenly Eli was there; "Yes, Master Headmaster Severus, what would you be liking for Eli to do?" Severus smiled and cuddled Hermione to his side "Eli, a cup of tea, and a mug of warm milk with a dash of nutmeg please..." He ordered and the little elf bowed as he popped away.

Severus cuddled her close and hummed a soft tune that lulled her to sleep. She breathed in the scent of him and buried her face in his chest, "Are you staying with me?"

"No, I have to finish some business that I've neglected this week. If I'm done before it's time to go, I'll join you." She was disappointed to say the least. All she wanted to feel was the closeness that they'd had just that morning; it seemed like a lifetime ago.

Instead of voicing her disappointment, she nodded and said, "Well, will you at least stay with me a little bit?"

"Of course."

They sat in comfortable smile me as they watched the fire crackled, Severus turned a little bit and laid on the sofa with her on top of him "Mia, people are going to suspect something else is going on if you'll start treating me differently..." He said with an air of amusement.

She cuddled closer to him and let him envelop her in a hug. "I'm feeling really...confused ...and I don't like that I'm having to consciously think about how I'm "Supposed" to treat you." How the hell had she treated him before?

Severus moved his hands up her back slowly. "I'm quite sure Black suspects something. He is still a...nosy animagus after all, and Remus has his sixth sense..." he said a bit sarcastically.

She huffed a quiet laugh and scooted a little upwards to kiss his jaw. He hummed in approval as she littered his face with little kisses "You are entirely too tempting, Mia."

 

Slowly they got up and walked to her bedroom, then sat on the bed and leaned against the headboard as she changed her clothes in the closet. When she walked out dressed in short shorts and one of...his...shirts.., he rose his eyebrows and said, "Mia, you're making it difficult for me to leave when you come out dressed like that."

She gave him a tired smile, "That might have been my intention. Maybe."

He patted the bed next to him and she walked around and laid down next to where he was sitting. "Will you stay with me? At least until I fall asleep?"

He ran his hands through her hair softly, "Yes, for a while." He sat up and toed off his shoes, then helped her under the covers. He laid down on top of the blanket, then wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her flush against his body. He kissed her neck and said softly, "Don't worry about anything but how much you need to sleep. I'll always be here for you, Mia... Always." He moved his fingers under the hem of her shirt and began to move them in soothing circles over her lower abdomen and stomach as she felt her eyelids grow heavy.

She fell asleep in minutes; dreamless for the first time in weeks.


	13. Somebody Cares

Friday: Three Brooksticks, Hogsmeade Village

With every sad, pitiful stare that came her way, Hermione felt herself getting madder and madder. She was suppose to meet Severus here for dinner at 7 PM.

She was surprised when she arrived at five minutes till to find Severus hadn't arrived yet. Whenever they were to meet for dinner, he was always there before she was. Always. He said it was in poor taste for a lady to wait on a man at a restaurant. In the past, she had actively tried to arrive before he did but he was always there before she was. Once she had arrived 45 minutes before their meeting time and damned if he wasn't sitting at the bar drinking his glass of fire whisky.

When she walked into the The Three Broomsticks restaurant and Madame Rosmerta had told her that "The Headmaster" hadn't arrived yet, Hermione felt her mouth drop open. She couldn't believe it! As she took her seat at their assigned booth in the very back, she felt herself smiling. She couldn't wait to rub Severus' hooked nose in the fact that she had to wait on him.

Severus had suggested they meet for dinner that morning when he owled to check in. He had just arrived back from a little business trip to Beauxbatons with Lucius and he wanted to see how things were. When he asked Hermione to dinner she accepted. Since she had gotten sick with the flu months ago and Severus took care of her, they had gotten closer. They would have dinner together outside the great hall on weekends and if he couldn't do dinner then they would always have lunch. He had been in France for the past four days and even though Hermione would never admit it to him or anyone else...she missed him. She missed his company.  
So when Severus asked her to dinner that morning she accepted happily. He suggested that since it was such a short notice, they would have to go to the Three Broomsticks, but she didn't mind at all.

Hermione left her classroom early to head back to her quarters and get freshened up. She took her second shower of the day, redid her hair and makeup and put on a new dress she had bought about a month back but never worn. It was a strapless black and white pattern dress that just hit her knees and it had a cute little red bow at the waist. She paired it with black high heels and a red handbag. She took her clock and beanie and walked to the village.

As Hermione sat in her chair she checked her watch once again. 7:43. She hadn't ordered anything but a glass of white wine when she arrived and she was starving. Hungry, angry, and embarrassed.

That's it! I'm done, Hermione thought to herself. She motioned over the elf who had been so very patient with her taking up one of his booths on a Friday night.

"May I have the check please?" Hermione had asked when he came to her side.

"Yes Miss," the elf said before he turned to leave.

For the past 25 minutes her mind had been steady at work. Why would Severus stand her up? What was his reason? Was it to show his dominance over her? No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't figure it out. None of it made sense.

The elf arrived back at her table carrying a thin black book.

"Here you are Miss," he had said.

"Thank you. I'm so sorry I've taken up your time tonight," Hermione said reaching into her handbag and pulling out a few galleons and placing it in the black book without looking at the check amount.

"You were no trouble Miss. Thank you very much! And may I say, he is a fool to not make dinner with you," the elf said with a smile.

Hermione smiled back and said, "Thank you."

He nodded as he walked away from her. She knocked back the last swallow of her wine before getting up from the booth. She made her way through the restaurant and out the entrance door. Just as she turned the corner to the Main Street back to Hogwarts, she noticed an elf running towards her. Hermione stopped and looked at the panting little thing

"Little Miss," Taffy said softly.

"Taffy," Hermione said as she looked around. "So? Where is the man who called himself my lover?"

" Little Miss, I am being sorry to tell you, but Master Hesdmaster Severus is not feeling well," Taffy said walking up to her on the curb.

Hermione felt herself frown. "What do you mean he's not feeling well?"

"Taffy not be knowing he was suppose to meet you for dinner you see. Master Mister Malfoy be the one telling me he isn't well and they have had headed to his little cottage me," Taffy said.

"Taffy what's wrong with Severus? Has he been hurt?" Hermione said with a slight panic in her voice.

"No, no, nothing like that. I believe he has the wizard flu. Or maybe a virus of some sort. Eli he already calling St. Mungo's healer... If we make it back now, we can be catching up to them... Master Severus insisted that Master Malfoy be going home..."

Hermione's anger vanished and had been replaced by worry. She had never seen Severus Snape current Headmaster, former spy, ex death Eater, one of the famous potions master in all of Britain, the great Bat of the Dungeon, and war hero, sick. Physically hurt from an altercation with a a curse, or a hex yes, but not sick-sick.

Hermione held on to Taffy as they apparated themselves to the Cornish coast where Severus had a small as he say cottage, but it was a house, a noble house in reality.

"Who is with Severus now Taffy?" Hermione asked as they walked the pathway towards the house.

"No one. That's why I want to hurry and get back. Eli is gone and be getting a few things for Master...it's just me...it's always been us three.." Taffy said as his ears slowly dropped in sadness for his Master "You're not alone you know... You still have me...all three of you." She said with a smile which Taffy reciprocated.

"If Severus hadn't told you he was having dinner with me, how did you know where to find me?" Hermione asked.

"Before dark, Master said he was heading upstairs to be getting cleaned up. Taffy assumed he had to be somewhere for dinner but Taffy didn't think to ask. When they arrived back from...school Taffy can't be getting the name right..." Taffy said looking at Hermione side-eyed before continuing. "Taffy really didn't notice the time until it was dark and Taffy realized Taffy haven't seen hide nor hair of Master, Taffy headed into the living room and when Taffy didn't see him Taffy went upstairs. Master was sound asleep in the same clothes he had on that morning. Taffy went over to him to wake him up and when Taffy touched him Taffy noticed how pale and sweaty he looked. Taffy touched his forehead and he was burning up."

"Was he feeling bad this morning?" Hermione asked and Taffy shook his head

"Master never said. Master was moving rather sluggish but Taffy didn't think much of it. When Taffy touched him Master immediately woke up and asked Taffy what time it was. Taffy told him just after dark. Master got very upset and that's when Master said Master was suppose to meet Little Miss for dinner. Master tried to get up out of bed but Master said he felt dizzy when Master moved. Taffy called for Eli and Eli called for Master Malfoy.

Hermione nodded.

"Master Malfoy asked Taffy to go to the restaurant and pick Little Miss up before leaving. Master Malfoy didn't want to leave him but he was very insisting. Taffy left even without Eli being around because Taffy was afraid Master would try to get up and go himself if Taffy didn't leave. Eli called healer as Taffy left."

"Whose place is he straying now? Who owns this place?" Hermione asked.

"It's his Little Miss, Master be owning this for very long time." Taffy answered

It was a beautiful white brick home with black shutters on the windows and a wrap around porch. It reminded her of an old southern home.

As Taffy stopped to open the door, he said, "The healer hasn't arrived yet."

"How do you know?" Hermione asked as they entered the house.

"No new magic Aura, and Taffy can't be feeling Eli." He answered

As she and Eli walked into the master bedroom, she saw Severus right were Taffy left him apparently. He was on top of the covers, dressed in his black suit pants, black vest, white dress shirt, and his black dress shoes. The only thing missing were his cravat and robes, both of which were laying next to him at the foot of the bed.

"Master?" Taffy said softly as he touched his shoulder.

Severus immediately woke up and looked up at Taffy.

"Are Master feeling any better?" Taffy asked.

Severus didn't say anything but did shake his head with a frown.

"Did you go and pick up Hermione like I asked?" Severus asked.

"I'm here Sev," Hermione said from her spot behind Taffy

Just then a pop of apparition came.

"Healer Harland. Taffy will be back," Taffy said turning away and leaving the room quickly.

Hermione stepped forward and locked eyes with Severus. He looked pale and his eyes were glazed over. She sat down on the side of the bed next to Severus.

"Hey," Hermione said softly with a smile and kissed his forehead, noting his fever.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry didn't make our dinner. I'm just so sorry," Severus said in a whisper.

"It's alright," Hermione said touching his forehead. He was burning up and his skin was all clammy to the touch.

"No it's not. You were there alone. Everyone in that place must have thought you got stood up. I'm so sorry Mia," Severus whispered softly closing his eyes.

Hermione couldn't help but smile. He looked and felt awful and the only thing he could think about was missing their dinner date.

Hermione turned as she heard Taffy and the doctor walk in the room. She stood up as the healer held out his hand to her.

"You must be Ms. Granger, Mr. Malfoy gave me a heads up that you might be here... I think I saw you just last week when I helped Poppy administer flu shots for the young ones?" the healer said with a smile shaking her hand. "I believe my colleague gave you professors your own shot, yes?" He asked and Hermione nodded; "How are you then Ms. Granger? Is the shot working just fine

"That will be me, yes..." She said with a small smile "I'm doing fine yes, but him on the other hand..." She said pointing to Severus.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy said he was quite ill," the healer said walking over to the bed.

"Taffy, I know you told me he was moving slowly this afternoon but any other symptoms? Today or in the last couple of days?" The healer asked.

"Master Malfoy be telling he not be eating much in...other country. Master Malfoy be saying Master didn't eat much dinner last night at the hotel but he did drink three cups of herbal tea. This morning Master ate a light breakfast but that's not really out of the ordinary for him. Master is not much of a breakfast eater. Taffy be fussing not much is not normal..." Taffy said.

"Anything else? Any coughing, sneezing?"

"No not really. Master Malfoy said Master didn't sleep much last night which again isn't really out of the ordinary."

The Healer nodded as he continued looking Severus over. He put a thermometer in his ear and when it beeped he took it out and looked at it.

"102.8. Not good," The Healer said with a frown.

"Taffy gave Master Pepper-up before Taffy left to pick up Little Miss about a half an hour ago," Taffy said.

"It's either not working or they are working and it was a lot higher than that," the healer said. "His glands aren't swollen at all. His chest isn't congested, heart rate is fine, blood pressure is fine. No sneezing or coughing you said."

"So I'm not dying then?" Severus said from the bed. His deep voice speaking up made Hermione and The Healer jump in surprise.

"I thought you were asleep?" Hermione said looking at him.

"Who can sleep when you have someone poking and prodding at you," Severus muttered.

"If he wasn't sick last night then the chances of him having some sort of virus are slim to none. I think he has a slight case of the flu and it's just kicking in," the healer said.

"He caught it from me didn't he?" Hermione said feeling guilty "A,it's two months ago I was sick and he took care of me..."

"Oh I doubt that Ms. Granger, two months is a bit too long. It wouldn't have taken that long for him to get sick. Mostly liking he picked it up while traveling somewhere. Him getting sick has nothing to do with you. I promise you that," the healer said with a smile.

"So there's nothing we can do for him?" Hermione asked.

"No, not really. Keep a very close eye on his fever. I don't want that getting any higher but if it does call me right away. Since I know he won't go to the hospital, if it gets to much higher I will come back out and hook him up to a muggle IV. Make sure he gets plenty of liquids. I don't want him to get dehydrated. Don't be surprised if he starts vomiting," the healer said gathering up his things. "Basically expect him to have all of your systems Ms. Granger. Nausea, headache, body aches, sleeping a lot. He'll be good as new in a few days. His body just has to ride this out."

Hermione nodded.

"I'll floo you back in the morning to check on him but if you need me tonight just floo. And please try to keep him from getting up to work. He needs to rest. If he fights it, it's just going to last longer," the healer said to Hermione.

Both Taffy and Hermione nodded as they walked to the door. Hermione waved as they went by her. She turned back to the bed and took her spot next to him. Severus turned his head and opened his eyes.

"Well, I guess it looks like it's my turn to take care of you," Hermione said.

Severus smiled slightly looking up at her.

"And I don't want any arguments either," Hermione said sternly.

"I wasn't going to. It's not everyday I get a beautiful girl waiting on me. I like Lucius sometimes when here's here, also Taffy and Eli and all but I don't find him attractive at all," Severus whispered with eyes half closed.

Hermione giggled as she looked at him.

"Little Miss?"

Hermione turned to Taffy's voice at the bedroom door. She looked at him standing my door then back down to Severus.

Hermione put down Severus' hand that she didn't realize she was holding and got up off the bed before making her way to Taffy, who had moved out in the hall.

"Yes?" Hermione said when she joined him.

"Taffy is going to have to run to the store. There's nothing here Master will be able to drink or eat. Will you be okay staying here with him till Taffy get back?" Taffy asked looking at her.

"Oh sure. I'll be fine," Hermione said. "Although, if I'm going to stay here to help him I'm going to need some of my stuff. Can you ask Eli to go by my quarters and pack me a small bag?"

"Yes, Little Miss," Taffy said with a nod.

"Let me get a parchment for the password," Hermione said as she turned away.

"Eli don't need a key Little Miss. Eli can get in," Eli said with a smile.

Hermione looked at him with an upraised eyebrow. "I don't even want to know."

"Taffy and Eli will be back as soon as We can," Taffy said before turning and making his way down the stairs.

Hermione sighed and walked back down the hallway to the bedroom. It was going to be a long weekend she thought to herself.

Taffy and Eli arrived back a little over an hour and a half after he left. Hermione was in the bedroom, sitting on the bed next to Severus.

After Taffy and Eli left, Hermione had taken off her high heels by the door and had a look around the bedroom. It was beautiful decorated in shades of blue and dark browns. There was a king-sized bed, two bedside tables, a muggle TV, armoire that was directly in front of the bed and to the left side of the room were two overstuffed chairs, two ottomans, and a small table in between. This was all sitting in front of a set of floor to ceiling windows that had the curtains drawn closed. She didn't however see a dresser or ever a chest of drawers.

She walked into the massive connecting bathroom and saw the closet door just to the side of the double sinks. Walking in she saw that a dresser was against the far wall of the huge walk in closet. Hanging on one side of the closet was row after row of robes, cravats, waistcoats and dress shirts that she knew just by looking at the fabric, were Severus'. On the opposite side of the closet, she saw several pairs of black slacks, black jeans, a couple of black hoodies, and a few black t-shirts. Next to the dresser were built in shoe cabinets. One was filled with various styles of dress shoes and boots all in black.

Opening some of the dresser drawers she found several pairs of silk pajamas, socks, and boxers-briefs. It dawned on her that he was still dressed in his dress shirt and knew he needed to change into some pajamas. She picked out a pair in a beautiful shade of hunter green and a pair of black Muggle Armani boxer briefs. Even his underwear are designer Hermione thought to herself.

Walking back into the bedroom, she saw Severus had fallen back asleep. She put her hand to his forehead and could tell he was still rather warm. He woke up when she touched him.

"Sev, Taffy and Eli went to the store to get you a few things. You need to get up and get changed," Hermione said to him.

Severus blinked before slowly trying to get up. Hermione could tell by the frown on his face that he was hurting. She put her arm under his and helped him up.

"I set you out a pair of pajamas and set them on the counter in the bathroom," Hermione said. "Do you need me to help you change?"

 

Severus chuckled as he made his way into the bathroom.

"Mia, just because I'm sick doesn't mean you can take advantage of me...you've been doing that for some time now...I I'll do it myself.

Hermione sighed in relief but didn't say anything. After making sure Severus was stable enough to walk by himself, she left the bathroom but kept the doors open

She looked at the watch on her wrist and saw it was ten after nine. It had only been a couple of hours since Taffy had given Severus his Pepper-up but Hermione decided to give him a couple more. His fever needed to come down as much as possible. She saw the bottle on the side table but nothing to drink. She left the bedroom to find her way to the kitchen. It didn't take her long as the house floor plan was pretty open. She walked into the spacious kitchen and opened the muggle ice box's door.

Taffy hadn't been kidding when he said there was nothing here he could eat while he was sick. Two bottles of wine, one bottle of champagne, an assortment of French cheeses with names she couldn't pronounce and bottled water were all that were there.

She grabbed a bottle of water and quickly made her way back upstairs. When she walked back into the bedroom, she saw Severus getting back into bed.

"Either this would have been the first night for you to stay here or you have a pretty serious drinking problem you're not telling me of. Think about your answer Sev because if it's the second, there's no hesitation I won't kick your ass Mister." Hermione said walking to Severus' side.

Severus chuckled as he pulled the blankets back over himself.

"No, tonight would have been the first night. Those cheeses and wine I picked up on our trip," he said. "I was really looking forward to that bottle of wine tonight."

"Well the wine is going to have to wait a few days. Here take some Pepper-up. You still feel warm," Hermione said handing him the potion vial and the water bottle.

He leaned up and took his potion without any fuss. She took the bottle back when he was finished and sat it on the nightstand.

"I never did tell you but you look beautiful," Severus whispered to her.

Hermione couldn't help but smile. "Thank you."

"Were you angry? Tonight, when I didn't show up."

"Yes. Yes I was," Hermione said locking eyes with him.

"I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you," Severus said sleepily. "There's a wonderful place in Vienna. They serve a 36 course tasting meal. It takes well over 4 hours and it's some of the most amazing food you will ever eat. I'll take you there."

Hermione was silent as he spoke. She licked her lips before saying, "How about a burger and fries uptown Muggle London?"

"Whatever you want, Mia," Severus muttered as he started to fall asleep again.

Hermione stood over for him for quite awhile watching him sleep. He seemed much less powerful and intimidating when he slept. Younger too. Even as sick as he was, he looked young. Like the pictures she saw in his school year book at Hogwarts. Maybe it was the last 20+ years of his life that made him seem older. Everything he had seen and done. The life he lead would age anybody. Still she loved him just the same...

The sound of two soft apparition pops pulled Hermione out of her day dreaming. As she made her way out of the bedroom she saw Taffy and Eli heading to the kitchen carrying several bags.

"Hey," Hermione said walking to the kitchen.

"Little Miss, Here is your bag. Eli hope Eli got what you would need," Eli said passing her a black duffle bag.

"I'm sure it's fine Eli. Thank you."

"How is Master?"

"I got him up and he changed into his pajamas. I gave him some more Pepper-up. He still felt awfully warm to me but he's asleep again," Hermione said unpacking the grocery bags.

Kleenex, cough drops, Muggle medicine, several boxes of tea, ginger ale, soup, crackers, bread, and eggs. Pretty much the exact same things she found in her pantry after she was sick. Taffy was very good at grocery shopping for sick people.

"If Taffy see Master needs anything else, Taffy go back in the morning," Taffy said.

Hermione nodded. A thought crossed her mind.

"Does he get sick much?" Hermione asked.

"No. This is only the 4th time Taffy has seen Master sick since Taffy known him. Master takes good care of himself," Taffy said.

Hermione nodded. "Well I'm going to get changed. Thanks again for getting me my stuff."

"Call out if Little Miss needs Eli and Taffy, yes?" Taffy asked 

Hermione nodded as she picked up her bag and left the kitchen. Walking back up the stairs she remembered what Severus had said when she was sick.

"You know those stairs are for a young person's knees."

Hermione smiled at the thought.

The sound of Eli and Severus talking in hush tones woke Hermione up the next morning. Since the curtains were closed she couldn't tell what time it was but if she had to guess it was very early. Or it felt very early to her. She had been up and down with Severus most of the night. Around midnight he started vomiting and around 2 AM she had called for Eli since his fever had shot up to 103.4. Hermione, Taffy and Eli covered Severus with cold washrags, gave him three Muggle Motrin, having given up on the Pepper-up, and then forced him to drink a few sips of cold water. They both didn't go back to sleep till around 6 AM when Severus' fever started to drop.

She originally fell asleep in one of the big overstuffed chairs while reading a book she found down in the living room but by the time Severus' fever started to go down, she was so tired she just fell asleep next to Severus in the big king size bed.

Turning over, she saw Eli standing over Severus fully dressed. Did the elf ever sleep?

"What's wrong? What time is it?" Hermione asked sitting up.

"It's just after Mid morning, Healer Harland called and wanted to check on Master," Eli said. "Eli took his temperature and it's down to 101.1. The healer said to keep him posted."

"Are you hungry at all?" Hermione asked Severus who was laying next to him.

"A little yes," Severus replied.

"Master want some soup?" Eli asked.

"Yes, that would be good," Severus said.

"You want me to get it Eli?" Hermione asked.

Eli shook his head and headed out of the room.

When he left, Severus turned his head to look at Hermione. He liked the way Hermione's ginger-brown hair looked against the stark white of the sheets.

"Are you feeling better?" Hermione asked laying her head back down to the pillow.

"Some I suppose," Severus whispered.

"You want to watch some TV?" Hermione asked.

Severus shook his head. He never took his eyes off of her.

"What are you thinking about?"

Severus smiled and shook his head.

Hermione looking at him for a moment before pulling back the covers. "While Eli is making your soup, I'm going to go to the bathroom."

Hermione made her way around the bed and into the bathroom. After using the restroom she brushed her teeth and combed her hair before pulling it back into a ponytail.

As she walked back into the bedroom a few minutes later, Eli was coming in with a tray. She helped Severus sit up against the headboard and Eli placed the tray in his lap. She saw Severus' bowl of soup, a few crackers and a cup of what smelled like some sort of ginger tea. Also, on the tray was a bowl of grapes, a cream cheese covered bagel and a cup of coffee. Also under his arm was a newspaper.

"Thank you Eli,." Hermione said looking at him with a smile.

Eli nodded his head and said, "You're being welcome. We'll be downstairs if you need us. 

"Get well master..." Eli said.

Severus nodded as he took a sip of his tea. After Eli left the room, Hermione walked back around the bed, went over to the small table by the window, picked up her book from the night before and walked back over to the bed, climbing back in.

"What are you reading?" Severus asked watching her.

"Great Expectations by Dickens" Hermione said showing him the cover.

"Very good book," Severus said taking a bite of cracker.

"Let's see what's in the paper today," Hermione said taking a bite of her own breakfast before picking up the paper.

After Severus ate his breakfast he fell asleep very soon after and slept much of the day. Awaking only once to use the bathroom. He never did throw up again but he was still running a low grade fever.

As nightfall approached, Hermione was sitting in one of the chairs by the window just finishing up her second book of the day. While she was sorry Severus was sick, Hermione did love the fact that she was able to take this opportunity to just read. It had been months since she had been able to rest on one of her days off. Usually if she had a weekend off she was busy running around doing errands and taking care of things around the house that she didn't have time during the week to do.

Eli and Taffy had been in and out of the bedroom all day checking on Severus. Lucius dropped by to see how Severus was doing, he stayed a while to sit and chat. Hermione was surprised that was also the talker just like Severus. No wonder they are so close. She can feel that Lucius has changed after the war, he was mellower, friendlier, it's like as if the real him was finally showing up. Lucius approved of her greatly, he loved it that finally Severus had someone and had treated her as one of his "family" so to say (seeing that Lucius was very protective of Severus, "he's my brother in everything but blood" he once said) now that she is Severus' lover/fiancée/best friend... Whatever. Now that they were together.

Hermione had just finished her last page and closed the book. She pulled off the throw blanket that was covering her legs and stood up to stretch when she noticed Severus watching her from the bed.

"Hey, I didn't know you were awake. How are you feeling?" Hermione said walking over to him and kissing his cheeks and forehead.

"Better," Severus said with a smile.

Hermione picked up the ear thermometer and placed it in his ear. It beeped several seconds later and Hermione was happy to see 100.1.

"Your fever is almost gone Sev. That's good. I still want you to take your Pepper-up every three hours or so tonight so it doesn't go back up," she said. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah. Yeah I am," Severus said with a nod.

"Want some more soup? I'll have some with you."

"Sounds great," Severus said.

"Be right back. Do you need to talk to Eli?"

"Yeah, send him up."

Hermione left the room and walked down the stairs. She found Eli in the den cleaning up a little.

"Eli, he's up and wants to speak to you," Hermione said to him when he looked up at her entering the room "He's hungry too so while you talk I'm going to make him some more soup."

Eli nodded as he clicked his fingers to stop his cleaning magic "Taffy would me more than willing to make that for you Little Miss..." He said but Hermione shook her head "it's fine, Eli, thanks so much... But I think I can don't by myself..." She said with a smile. Hermione turned around and headed for the kitchen. After looking in all the cabinets and finding the pantry she got to work on making them their dinner.

A little over 15 minutes later Hermione was walking up the stairs carrying a tray of dishes. Eli was just walking out of the bedroom as she was walking in.

"Perfect timing," Hermione said to Severus as she walked over to the bed. Severus was sitting up against the headboard reading a folder of paperwork.

Hermione placed the tray on Severus' lap before walking around the bed to take her spot next to him on the bed. They talked about nothing in particular as she sat crossed legged facing him while they ate their soup and crackers.

After dinner, Severus took a shower and changed pajamas. She got him settled back into bed and took his temperature. Still had a low grade fever but as long as it wasn't going up, there was no cause for concern.

After getting Severus back in bed, Hermione headed to the bathroom to get herself ready for bed. It was a little past 10 PM when Hermione walked out of the bathroom.

Severus was still in bed, reading yet another file that Eli must have brought him. Even when he was sick, the man still worked. Hermione shook her head as she looked at him.

"I'm going downstairs. Do you need anything?" Hermione asked.

"No thank you," Severus replied.

Having finished her book earlier that day, Hermione headed down to the den to find herself another one. After looking over the shelves she settled on Everyday by David Levithan "so he does read modern muggle authors... One of my favorites too... Another thing in common" she told herself quietly and smiled as she pondered on her thoughts and how they could be so much alike in unique ways.

After making a quick stop into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water, she made her way back up stairs. She hadn't been gone more than 15 minutes but when she walked back into the bedroom she saw Severus had fallen asleep holding the folder he was reading.

Putting down her water and book on the foot of the bed, Hermione picked up the folder, closing it, sat it next to Severus on the side table and turning off his bedside lamp. Picking up her water and book, Hermione made her way to her side of the bed and gently climbed in as to not wake Severus. After getting herself settled, she opened her book and began to read.

"If there's one thing I've learned, it's this: we all want everything to be okay. We don't even wish so much for fantastic or marvelous or outstanding. We will happily settle for okay, because most of the time, okay is enough."

"What are you reading now?" Severus said in a deep voice.

Hermione jumped slightly not knowing he was awake. She had been totally engrossed in the book she didn't even feel him move.

"Everyday by David Levithan," Hermione said showing him the cover.

"Also very good. You choose good books Mia," Severus said with a smile.

"Are you feeling bad again? Do you want more Pepper-up?" Hermione asked with a frown. She touched his head but he felt cool to the touch.

"No, I'm feeling better. I just have a hard time sleeping. Too many ghosts of days past make their presence known at night," Severus whispered not looking at her. She ran a hand through his glossy hair and whispered tenderly "I'll keep you safe Sev, just like how you kept me safe..."

Hermione knew without asking that the ghosts had nothing to do with Severus poised...destiny but rather dreams of the life he had wanted so much, but lost... Some of Lily and their past, some of the future he wanted but didn't have. Her heart broke for him whenever she thought about it. Yes, Severus Snape was an ex death-eater, and a former spy. Yes, he had killed poor souls, and blood stained his hand. But under it all, Severus was just a man who wanted a normal life, a life where he wasn't bullied or manipulated, a life where pain was not an everyday occurrence. A life where he was wanted more than rejected, loved instead of hated...and not...alone. It may have happened 20 years ago but that kind of pain never faded away.

Hermione smiled slightly at him before putting her bookmark in spot, placing it on the bedside and turning off the light. Turning over so she faced Severus, she could make out his outline in the dark and could tell he was still looking at her.

"Thank you Mia," Severus whispered.

"What for?" Hermione asked confused.

"For taking care of me. You are a celebrated war hero in bed with an ex death-eater, spy, and murderer... I'm a criminal in my own right...But you nursed me back to health..." Severus said in a sleepy voice.

"You took care of me so it's only fair I take care of you," Hermione said with a smile. "And you're not just a criminal Sevvie, you're MY criminal... Who had the pleasure of stealing my heart." She finished, and kissed him on the temple.

"I will always take care of you Mia. Till I take my last breath, I will always take care and protect you," Severus whispered softly as he fell asleep.

Hermione could tell he had fallen back asleep. She reached over in the darkness and took his hand. Holding it between their bodies underneath the sheet and blanket.

"Me too Sevvie," Hermione whispered so softly that even if he had been awake, Severus still wouldn't have heard it.


	14. By Your Side

Another raid for the remaining loose death eaters were dead by a few team of Aurors under Harry and Draco's jurisdiction. Lucius and Severus decided that they take part in the raid as they knew better how to get to the deep inner crevices of Voldemort's hide outs.

Hermione was holding her breath, her heart racing with every passing hour that Severus and Lucius weren't back. Remus and Sirius had decided to come along, being past Aurors they knew a few tricks up their wizard sleeves. Hermione was worried, why weren't they back yet?

She and Minerva decided that they go to the Ministry to await their return, Filius, Pomona and the rest were left to run Hogwarts for a bit. They reach the ministry in time to see Kinglsey and Percy coming in through the double doors, but Severus wasn't in sight, neither was Remus, Sirius, Lucius and or Harry and Draco.

She gets jarred out of her thoughts as a small explosion gets to them, she could immediately see fire starting followed by a few pops of apparition, she looked to see who it were and she saw a couple of Aurors arriving to the rescue, from the corner of her eye, She saw a death eater coming towards Minerva...

"Minerva!" she yells, and the older woman turned around just in time to cast a hex before the attacker could. The attacker was obviously hit, and she spots a few of their targets running off. Hermione takes off after him and she hears her name being called. She could hear footsteps behind her and she prayed that it was only the other Aurors. She knew Percy or Kingsley would catch up to her, only because he was slightly taller than her and had longer legs.

Hermione slows down while drawing her wand from its holster. She peeks around the corner but doesn't see anything, but that didn't mean he wasn't there. She takes a step and continues down the street. It was eerily quiet. Not much action down here. She turns and starts to head back to the main corridor when she hears something behind her.

She didn't even get a chance to turn before she was hit with something in the back of the head. She feels herself start to fall, the world spinning. She drops to her knees as she feels the same instrument come down hard onto her back. Having no strength left she falls to the ground gasping for breath.

Out of her blurry sight she saw a pair of black boots, and she knew he was going to try and finish her off. She brings her arm around and lets a shot off with her wand. She hears her name being called before there was a swift kick to her abdomen. And the Deatheaters runs off.

"Hermione!" Sirius calls dropping down next to her.

"Go get him," she rasps trying to pull air into her lungs.

Sirius nods before turning his head. "SEVERUS! She's here," he yells before getting up and running after their loose Deatheaters.

She was starting to get black spots in her vision and she knew she was starting to turn blue from the lack of oxygen. She couldn't seem to pull air into her lungs. She couldn't breathe. That's when the darkness took over.

 

"Hermione. Hermione," she could vaguely hear someone calling her name. "Come on, open those beautiful blue eyes for me." Hermione groans before putting her hand onto the back of her head. She slips an eye open to look at her hand as she brought it in front of her face.

"I'm bleeding," she says. She looks up to see Severus Snape staring down at her. "Sev, I don't feel so good," she mutters.

"It's probably a concussion," he says. "Rest Mia. The healers are on their way."

"Sev," she whispers. She could feel the bile rising up. "I'm gonna be sick." Severus swings into action helping her into a sitting position and turns her head as she gets sick. He holds her hair and rubs his hand up and down her back in a soothing motion.

"Sev" they could all hear the whine come out of her. Severus gathers her into his arms, wrapping them around her. All she wanted was to feel safe, and by Merlin, that's what he was going to try and make her feel. "My head hurts."

"The healers are coming," Severus whispers dropping a kiss onto the top of her head.

A warning bell blares somewhere and Hermione reacts to it, bringing up a hand and holding it over her ear. She tries to blink away the tears to no success. She buries her face into Severus' chest. He brings his hand up and places it over hers that was over her ear. He drops another kiss onto her head.

"How is she?" Severus looks up at Remus Lupin's form. A look of concern crosses his face.

"Most likely has a concussion. Anything else I'm not sure. Did you get him? Where are the healers?" Severus asks looking up at his best-friend and brother alike, Lucius.

"A minute out," he tells him.

"He took off into the edge of the village then apparated, I lost him there," Remus replies.

Hermione whimpers as the ministry sirens blare and lights flashing speed by. Severus tightens his arms around Hermione. Lucius waves his hand and Severus looks up as a team of healers comes down the side corridor they were on. Lucius started barking orders to the healers, catching Severus' attention.

"Mia, the healers are here, they're going to check you over before they take you to St. Mungo's..." Severus tells her softly. She opens her eyes and then closes them. "Come on."

"Too bright," she whispers.

Severus gets up and then helps Hermione stand up wrapping his arm around her neck and pulling her toward him. She buries her face into his neck and together, they slowly start to walk toward the nearest medical floo. "Sev, I think I'm gonna be sick again," she whispers. Severus stops leading her and brings her away from the waiting healers. She bends over and throws up once again. The black spots were starting to return. "Severus," she whispers before starting to drop to the ground. Luckily, Severus had quick reflexes and catches her before she could hit the ground.

"Hermione! Hermione!" he calls desperately.

 

To Severus Snape, the waiting period as they wait for the Emergency Trauma healer was the longest wait in his whole life. He sits back, keeping a death grip on Hermione's hand. He has never been a religious man, but now he sends up a silent prayer for her recovery. He can't lose her. Hermione is his redemption, his second chance.

He leans over and kisses her forehead, letting his lips linger for a moment. "Come back to me, Mia..." he whispers.

Finally a Trauma Healer comes in and looks over Hermione. He lets Hermione's hand go as the back doors open and they rush her off to the trauma section. Severus is right behind them in hopes of weaseling his way into the room with her.

"Headmaster, you can't go back there," a mediwitch stops him at a pair of doors leading back into what he could only assume was the emergency rooms. He takes a look around at the hub of activity around him, and finds a chair. All he could do now is wait, so he takes a seat.

"Severus," he hears. He looks up to see Remus, Sirius, Harry, Lucius, Draco, and Minerva walking toward him. "How is Hermione?"

"I don't know. They whisked her off back there when we came in," he points to the double doors where the nurse had stopped him from following. Harry stalks off to the mediwitch's station, on a mission to find out the state of his bestfriend.

Severus sees the same mediwitch from earlier walking through the doors and stands abruptly. "I'm looking for someone called Sevvie," she says walking over to the two.

"That's me," Severus says taking a step forward. "What's going on?"

"When Miss Granger came out from under sedation, she started having a panic attack. We still need to perform a few scans, but we can't do that until she is calmed down. She keeps asking for you," the nurse replies.

"Bring me to her," Severus says following the nurse. They get back to the room Hermione was in and they could hear machines going off. The nurse leads Severus in and his heart breaks when he sees his Hermione. There was a thin sheen of sweat covering her face, a monitor was going off like crazy. He runs his gaze over the machine, noticing a little heart icon blinking furiously. That must be the heart monitor, he deduces. Hermione was gasping like crazy, trying to get air into her lungs. There was a young doctor trying to talk to her, but he wasn't having any luck getting through to her. Severus steps up and takes her hand into his. He runs his thumb over her scar, back and forth. She calms down somewhat, but she was still having some trouble breathing.

"It's working," another nurse remarks looking at the monitor.

Severus leans down and whispers into her ear, "Mione." He leans back slightly as she turns her head. Her eyes were open wide, but it was as if she wasn't seeing anything. "Mia..." he whispers to her once again. "I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere. I will stay with you always." Hermione blinks once, and Severus watches as life comes back into her eyes. "Stay with me Mia."

"Sevvie?" she questions.

"I'm here," he remarks. He feels her hand tighten on his. Severus then feels a hand on his shoulder. He turns to see the mediwitch.

"Thank you. She has calmed down tremendously. We still have to take her for a few scans. But if you want to come with us, it will be a big help to keep her calm."

"I'm not leaving her now," Severus remarks with a huff.

"Alright, if you could just take a step back. We just have to get situated and then be on our way," the nurse says with a smile. Severus drops Hermione's hand and takes a step back to watch the nurse work on doing whatever was needed to transport Hermione to get the scan. The monitors suddenly go crazy and everyone turns to look at Hermione. Severus immediately goes back to Hermione's side and takes her hand once again.

"Okay, Mia, I'm here," he says soothingly. He takes a seat on her bed next to her. She blinks her eyes once and looks at him. "They have to take you for scans, but I will be with you the entire time." He turns to look at the doctor. "What is this scan for anyway?"

"An Auror told us she was hit in the back. We took a look, and she has significant bruising. We just want to make sure that nothing was punctured. She wasn't vomiting up blood, was she?"

"Not that I saw," Severus replies honestly. "She was dizzy, passed out, and she got sick. Had some sensitivity to light and sound."

"The scan will be very quick. We have to keep her overnight for observation for her concussion. But if everything comes back good then she should be free to go home tomorrow."

"You hear that Mia?" Severus turns to look at her. "If all goes well, hopefully, you will be out of here tomorrow. I'm going to make a few floo calls for your substitute and tell it to Minerva, then we'll have a vacation. She won't be able to portkey will she?" Severus asks turning back to the healer.

"I wouldn't suggest it, no," the healer says. Severus gives a brief nod and turns back to Hermione, smiling down at her. She gives him a soft smile back before closing her eyes.

The scan didn't take long, and they were back in her room in under 20 minutes. "Sev, will you shut the lights off? My head is pounding," Hermione asks. Severus gets up and "nox" the lights off leaving the room in darkness. He makes his way back to his chair and takes Hermione's hand into his once again.

"Rest Mia," he says softly leaning forward and placing a kiss onto her forehead.


	15. Someone to Watch Over Me

That night neither Severus nor Hermione had gotten much sleep. It was due to the doctors or nurses coming in and waking her up to keep an eye on her concussion. Each time, it would take longer and longer to rouse her from sleep, and when Severus asked about it, the healer just shrugged her shoulders.

"She's tired. She's been through hell. All she is going to want to do is sleep. I made a note of it in her chart. She woke up, so it's not concerning. Her not waking up is what should concern you."

Severus nods his head and keeps he hand firmly in hers. At some point he had moved his chair closer to her bed, so he could get a little more comfortable. He was used to going on little sleep, from either spying or grading. But tonight, he was just plain ole tired. He laid his head down on the bed next to her, and closed his eyes.

The silence didn't last long. Soon a healer poked her head into the room to check on her patient. Severus opened his eyes to see the nurse making a note in her chart and taking a look at the beeping monitors. "Miss Granger?" the healer questions.

"Hermione," Severus says. He rubs his thumb along her cheek. Hermione moans and opens her eyes to stare at Severus.

"Again?" she asks quietly.

"Yes, I'm afraid," the healer remarks just as quietly. They go through the notions, making sure her concussion wasn't getting any worse. "Everything looks good. I or another healer will be back in about half hour to check on you again."

Hermione sighs as the nurse walks out, closing the door behind her, bathing the room in darkness once again. "I'm so tired," she breathes out. Severus lays his head back down onto the bed. He closes his eyes briefly, before popping them open again. He was trying not to fall asleep, but he was tired. Tired wasn't even the right word to use, exhausted was more like it. His eyes close on their own once again.

"Sleep Sev" Hermione says softly, pulling her hand away from his and running it over his head.

"Can't sleep. Gotta keep an eye out," he says with a yawn.

"The Aurors and Draco or Harry are right outside the door," she runs her hand over his head once again before taking Severus' hand into her own.

"Then you sleep too," he gives her hand a squeeze and watches as her eyes close. Severus tries to get comfortable, but the chair was unforgiving on his back.

"Sevvie, come here," Hermione scoots over and pats the bed next to her.

"Mia, that's not a good idea."

"It has to be more comfortable than the chair you are sitting on. Neither of us are going to get any sleep. And I feel safer with you next to me. Merlin knows why, but after all that you've done for us... For me, You make me feel safe."

"It's been a long time since anyone told me I make them feel safe," he replies to her while getting up and sliding onto the bed. He lays down on his back and Hermione immediately lays her head onto his shoulder. He slips his around her, pulling her close while she drapes her arm around his stomach and settles into his side. The peace that Severus felt at that moment was all encompassing. He hadn't felt peace like that in a long time. And he wasn't sure if he ever wanted to give it up. It felt right to have Hermione in his arms. The woman he loves.

Severus knew he wanted more from her, but he wasn't sure if she returned the sentiments. Sure they were engaged in some way, but still...times could change, she could change her mind, she could leave him, or Merlin knows what else. He drops a kiss onto her head, while the arm she placed around his stomach snags his hand, bringing their hands together. Just before sleep overtakes her, Hermione leans up and kisses him on his cheek.

"There is a lot more we need to talk about, but for now, I like the way we fit together," Hermione remarks snuggling into him. She grabs the white blanket that all hospitals use and brings it up, laying it over the both of them.

"Thank you," Severus says dropping another kiss onto her head. Hermione lets out a happy sigh while closing her eyes. Severus follows suit and the two of them head off to dreamland.

True to form, Harry, Draco and another Auror was sitting right outside the door to Hermione's room. Lucius had put in a floo call to Minerva that both Severus and Hermione will be gone for a bit, and had told his elves to prepare Severus' Hogsmeade cottage. Since Hermione wouldn't be able to apparate for a great distance, and port key-ing was not allowed for the next few days, they had to stay somewhere near. A small pop of apparition distracts Harry from thinking about their next step. Eli stood in front of them to inform that the cottage wad prepared for his Master and Mistress. Harry smiled and thanked the elf before it popped away.cHe gets up and takes a look into the room, smiling when he sees the pair curled up together on the bed sound asleep. They would be okay, now he had too floo the rest to know of their plans.

Draco was glad Hermione was going to be okay. He and Harry decided to stay for the night to guard her door, they could never be too carful now. Minerva had returned to castle to oversee things while Lucius, Remus, and Sirius stayed at a nearby Inn to rest for the night. They didn't want to take anymore chances; Lucius and Arthur were also busy pulling some strings in the ministry to finish this loose Death Eater business for once and for all.

Draco had mentally made a list in his head of what they would need or need to do in the next few days. As it was, he knew his Godfather wouldn't leave Hermione alone. Their feelings were changing for one another and Draco hoped that was a good thing. Severus deserved to be happy. Everyday it seems to him, they were falling in love even more... It was marvelous. 

Harry looks up as a healer heads toward them. Nothing unusual about that since this was in fact a hospital. What was unusual about it, was the fact that he was wearing a face mask. Draco mentally goes through the list of healers and mediwitches and wizards he had seen since they had taken residence outside of Hermione's room. And this new doctor wasn't matching anyone he had already seen. Neither his face, nor his eyes, looked familiar to Draco. A mediwizard was walking by and he stops her to ask about the healer . He shakes his head telling him a healer wouldn't see their Gryffindor Princess until the morning, during rounds. Draco nods his head and turns on his heel, slowly approaching the room, and alerts Harry.

Harry watches as the "healer" pulls a syringe out of his pocket bringing in to the IV that was attached to Hermione. Draco pulls out his wand out from where it was attached at his sleeves and opens the door, making as little noise as possible. He takes a step into the room, coming up behind the man.

"Don't even think about it," Draco tells him.

"Too late," the "healer" tells him, pushing the syringe into Hermione's IV line.

"Uncle Sev," Draco calls to his godfather. Severus and Hermione blink their eyes open. Severus is immediately on guard as he sees the two figures standing over them. "Her IV! Quick!"

Severus immediately pulls Hermione's IV out, making her wince. He gets up and walks over to the corner where the sink is and grabs some gauze, bringing it over to Hermione. He presses it onto the spot where Hermione's IV was. "You okay?" Severus asks looking Hermione over.

"Yeah, I don't feel anything. It just hurt when you pulled the needle out. But I think you got it out in time," she replies, blinking her eyes. Sleep still clinging to her mind and body.

The two turn to watch as Draco slugs and binds the death eater. "Harry is calling for back-up," Draco tells them, before pulling their suspect out of the room.

"You sure you're okay?" Severus asks once the door closes.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Nothing is wrong," Hermione reassures him. She puts her hand onto his face, making him look at her. "Sev, I'm okay." The two turn as the door opens and the mediwitch walks in.

"I hear you need a new IV," she says with a smile. The mediwitch gets busy exchanging Hermione's old IV with her new one. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired," Hermione remarks.

"You are going to feel like that for the next couple of days," the mediwitch explains. She does a quick exam while Hermione was awake. "Get some rest. You seem to be doing okay. I'll be back in about an hour," she says before walking out the door.

"Go back to sleep Mia. I am going to talk to Draco and then call Minerva."

"As long as you come back," Hermione says laying back down. Severus nods his head and heads out the door going to look for Draco, who was not in his chair. Severus finds Draco, Harry and the death eater right outside the emergency room doors. Severus informs them that he has to floo Minerva and Kingsley and Hermione was alone, Harry nods and walks back to her room door.

Severus picked up a little floo powder and called for Kingsley

"Shacklebolt," a tired voice answers.

"Kingsley, I have your guy. He made an attempt on Professor Granger's life while at the hospital. Draco woke us before anything happened. Get dressed and get down here. I will see to it that everything is set before we go to Hogsmeade as soon as possible..."

"You're staying at the village? Severus I don't think-" Kingsley said now more awake but he was cut off.

"Hermione isn't allowed to travel far by apparition or port key and my cottage hasn't got floo network...it's very secluded."

Kingsley lets out a sigh. "Alright, I will be there as soon as I can."

Sure enough, Kingsley shows up about 10 minutes later. He had brought a couple of Aurors with him as he looked at the three that were standing there with the suspect, Harry, Draco and Severus looked haggard, like they hadn't slept. And knowing them as Kingsley did, they probably hadn't. Kingsley grabs their dea theater and marches him toward his Aurors. They had asked him to be binded tightly. He turns back to Severus, Harry and Draco

"How's Miss Granger?" he asks.

"Exhausted. But that's what happens when you get woken up every 15 minutes so the nurses can check you over," Severus explains. "The healers say she is doing well, so she should be released later today. When would you like for us to bring this to Wizengamot? Lucius is here already, if we could do this quickly?"

"I can have Percy working on this as soon as possible, two days at least, give me that and then we'll round everybody up to catch all the loose death eaters, we'll have to use him for this, veritaserum I think is best, and then we'll set trial and send them all to Azkaban after, is that okay?"

Severus nods his head "Yes, that sounds wonderful, thank you."

Kinglsey returns the sentiment, and says goodbye before turning on his heel to apparate.

"What's the plan now?" Harry ask as they watched them apparate away.

"Hermione has requested I come back. Now that our guy is in for the night with the Aurors you can head to the Inn where your godfathers and Lucius are staying and get some shut eye. Did Eli come through with the request?"

"He sure did. It's being cleaned and stocked at the moment, and your things are to follow soon. It's a little dusty, but nothing that they can't handle..." Harry said with a small smile; Severus retuned the sentiment warmly.

"Head over and get some sleep. I will stay with Hermione. Please inform me if you're going back tomorrow to the castle" Harry and Draco nods before walking off toward where Lucius had booked them all for the night. Severus walks back into the hospital and toward Hermione's room. He slips in, noticing she was sleeping once again. He takes a seat in his chair and gathers her hand into his. Hermione slowly opens her eyes and gives him a soft smile.

"Everything okay?" she scoots over to make room for Severus, who only happily obliges her by getting in with her. They curl up together in almost the exact same way as before. Severus feels Hermione's breathe even out.

Severus tilts his head down, intending to give Heemione a kiss onto her head, but he closes his eyes and relishes on the closeness between the two. "Everything is good," he breathes into her hair.


End file.
